The Game
by PsychoxLuv
Summary: Laura Alexander, daughter of Grace Alexander, finds herself lost on The Planet of The Apes after trying to rescue her friend Leo. After meeting the General she begins a dangerous game that may just mean her death. Can hate turn to love, or does this game end in nothing but blood?
1. The Beginning

The music was loud in the girl's ears as she danced around the room. It made her sway back and forth as she mouthed the words along with the song. It always put her in a good mood when she had a bad day and helped calm her stress levels. Not that her job really had her stressed, she enjoyed it quite a bit. Working with apes in training simulations aboard a space station with her mother was actually her dream job. Gave them more time together and she got to learn a lot about the animals.

The thing that made her stressed was the man in charge. She always had a problem with authority figures, and always wanted to do things her way. Commander Karl Vasich, wanted things done his way, even if they were wrong. It infuriated her to no end. Her mother tried to calm her and tell her things would be easier if she just listened and did as she was told. But it just didn't work for her.

"Laura!"

She was suddenly pulled out of her dancing trance when her music was suddenly shut off. Standing in front of her was her friend and co-worker, Leo Davidson.

"Leo, how can I help you?" Laura asked running her hand through her dark hair and breathing slightly heavy from her exertions.

"Your mother has been looking for you, you know you can't keep Grace waiting."

Laura nodded and followed her friend out of her cabin and through the long hallways of the space station. It didn't take them long to get to where the chimps were housed. Her mother was busy checking over one of the young ones and taking notes.

"Hey mom, what did you need from little ole me?" Laura asked as she leaned down and placed her elbows on the table and holding her head up with her hands.

"Where have you been Laura?" Grace asked with a sigh as she looked over at her young daughter. "I need your help, Leo just got done with Pericles and another trainer wants to get Semos out and into the training pod. Can you grab him for me?"

"First, I was blowing off some steam and dancing up a storm."

Leo snickered and covered his mouth to try and stop himself from full on laughing. "Yeah, she was really into it too, waving arms and all."

Laura smiled and straightened up. "You know I dance great!" She winked at Leo and they both shared a laugh before she continued, "Secondly, yes, I will help with Semos."

Grace shook her head at both of them but couldn't help but smile. She loved them both. They acted like brother and sister half the time and the other half they spent trying to prove who was more right about the apes. The last time Leo had gotten frustrated over one of the apes, Laura had popped him upside the head and scolded him for teasing the poor thing. But Grace and her daughter both knew how much Leo really cared, especially for Pericles.

Laura walked over to the cage and kneeled down in front of it. Semos had always been a bit of a loner. He didn't really care much for people. It always made her wonder why. As far as she knew, no one had ever mistreated him. Maybe it's just how he was.

"Here Semos, you wanna come out for a bit?" She asked taking a treat and placing it between the bars.

Semos looked her over and then let out a small grunt of disinterest. Laura sighed and shook her head. "Look Semos, we both know how this is gonna play out, can't we just be friends. You know the sooner you get it over with, the sooner you can come back and be left alone?"

The chimp kept looking at her before lowering his gaze to the treat. He reached over and snagged it and ate it quickly. Laura let out a small chuckle. "Oh so your not too good to eat my treats then?"

He grunted again before lifting himself up and turning towards her. She opened the cage and reached in for him and he gripped onto her and allowed for him to be lifted into her arms.

"You know he shrieked at his last trainer everytime he tried to get him out," Grace said as she placed the young chimp back in his cage. "I thought it would be a while before he got back out."

"He just doesn't take other peoples bullshit that's all," Laura said as she handed Semos another treat. "Paul shouldn't have been stupid enough to yell at him."

"Yeah, well the captain has him in solitude right now. Says he needs to be alone so he can calm his nerves. I think he's going a little crazy from being in this station." Leo said folding his arms and leaning against the wall.

"Ah, the 'Station Craze' has struck again," Laura replied with a smirk and a raised brow.

"It's not a joke Laura, Paul was really starting to fall apart. From what the commander has said I actually think they are thinking of sending him back home." Grace looked up at her daughter with a serious expression. It never failed to make Laura rethink things she said.

"Sorry, mom."

"It's probably a good idea to send him home then," Leo said with a tight expression.

The conversation was suddenly caught short when the lights flickered and went out. The apes seemed to sense something and started to freak out. Laura held onto Semos tighter and the chimp seemed to do the same. It didn't take long for the lights to come back on.

"What in the hell was that?" Laura asked as Leo was suddenly called up to the deck. "Leo."

He turned back towards her as he was about to head up, "It's going to be alright, I'm gonna see what's going on."

Laura nodded but still felt nervous. Her mother came over and placed a hand on her shoulder trying to reassure her. It worked a little.

Leo then headed out. She suddenly felt a small tugging on her arm. Laura looked down to see Semos looking at her and then looking back at his cage.

"Yeah, you're probably gonna be safer in there for now anyway." She said as she went back over to his cage and let him climb back into it. Before she turned to stand Semos placed his hand over hers on the bars. Laura looked back at him and smiled at him. "It's all gonna be okay, don't worry."

He stared at her for a bit before releasing her and sitting back. _That ape seems way smarter than the others._ Laura thought as she stood up and walked back over to her mother.

It wasn't long before Leo returned looking quite miffed about something. He headed straight over to Grace and asked for Pericles. Laura looked at him with questioning eyes. He shook his head before speaking.

"There is some kind of electric storm and Commander Vasich doesn't want to send me first, said it was too dangerous. So he wants to send Pericles first."

Laura was about to protest but Leo stopped her with a look. "I already tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn't listen, trust me I don't want this either."

She believed him and yet still she didn't like it. But Pericles was still put into his suit and placed into his pod. Leo gave him a few reassuring words and Laura smiled and gave him a treat and told him to be careful. As the pod was pulling out he gave them both a thumbs up. It pulled at Laura's heart strings.

She followed Leo as he headed back up to the deck and watched as Pericles's pod headed towards the storm. It wasn't long until something went wrong. His pod started to veer off course. Leo tried to instruct him to get back on course but nothing was changing. Laura felt her heart sink as his pod suddenly disappeared into the storm.

"The heart rate is spiking, he's scared," Grace said, which didn't make Laura feel any better. She could only imagine how Leo was feeling.

"Sir."

"For now we sit tight and wait." The commander replied closing the subject. Leo didn't like that and Laura felt her fists tighten. She had never been as angry at that man as she was feeling now.

She watched Leo out of the corner of her eye. His body language was telling her everything she needed to know about what he was thinking. When he gave an excuse about running sequences she followed after him.

When they reached the pod Laura grabbed his arm. "You can not be thinking of doing what I think you are?"

"I have to go after him Laura, he's my responsibility. I'm not letting him go out like this." He snatched his arm back but Laura didn't take offense to it. She actually felt a smile tugging at her lips.

"Let me come with you!" She said as she watched him frantically get his suit on.

"No Laura, you stay here, Grace would never forgive me if I let you do this!"

With that, he closed the pod and she watched him leave. Laura tried to stay calm and think things through, but all she could think about was what if something happened to him and then both of them were lost. She clenched her jaw and flung open the pod that had been next to the one Leo had taken and stepped inside. Turning on the comm she could hear the Commander yelling at Leo. Once she had pulled on the suit her pod was heading out as well.

"Laura!" She could hear her mother shouting at her through the comm. "What the hell do you think you are doing come back here right now!"

"Mom, I love you but I have to bring Leo back. I'm not losing him to some stupid space storm!" She yelled back.

"Laura please!"

She had to shut off the comm at that point. Hearing her mom sound so sad was really hurting her, but she had to get her friend back. At that point, she was getting closer to Leo's pod, but it didn't take long for everything to go wrong at once.

Laura hit turbulence and the alarms started going off. She lost sight of Leo's pod and then came a blinding flash of light. Then there was nothing. She looked out her pod and turned the comm back on. "Leo! Leo can you hear me?!" She was met with deafening silence. "Mom! Are you there?!"

Lost. She was lost in space.

Tears started to sting her eyes and she bit her lower lip. "God Dammit Leo, you and your damn monkey love!" She yelled as she slammed her hand on the wheel.

Laura didn't really blame him or Pericles, but it made her feel a little better. Then came the vortex, it seemed to appear out of nowhere and engulfed her ship. Suddenly everything came back on and she realized what was happening.

She was falling. Fast.

"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!" She yelled as she started flipping switches and trying to make the pod fly again.

There were trees, everything was covered in green. It looked like a jungle. She pulled on the wheel and lowered the landing gear as she continued to free fall.

"I am not dying like this!"

She hit the tops of the trees hard but the ship seemed to take it a bit better then she thought it would, the last thing she saw was a marsh before the ship started skidding through the mud and water.

"Come on baby, you can make it, just come to a halt damn it."

Her entire jaw was clenched as she gripped onto the wheel with both hands. That's when the mountain appeared. Her heart fell right in her stomach and her eyes went wide. Without thinking she wrenched the wheel trying to turn it in some way but it wasn't budging. She squeezed her eyes shut and knew there was nothing she could do.

"I'm sorry mom."


	2. Finding Civilization

Nothing came. No crash or sound of broken glass. Laura slowly opened her eyes and felt her whole body collapse with relief. Her pod had come to a stop just mere inches from the mountain.

After she managed to get the pod open, she fell to the ground on shaky legs and pried her suit off. For a few minutes, she just sat there breathing in and out, trying to remain calm. Looking up, she realized she was surrounded by trees, a marsh, and the mountain that almost killed her.

"I can't stay here, I have to find out where I am."

Carefully, she managed to get on her two feet and stay standing. Looking around again she noticed how quiet it was. She didn't even hear birds singing. Maybe her crash had just disrupted them. Hopefully, someone had seen it and was coming for her. But if that were true, did that mean she should stay there?

"Damn it, I can't just sit here and hope someone is coming. For all I know they might not even be friendly."

Laura shook herself off and started heading in a random direction. For all, she knew Leo could have crashed here too. The thought made her feel a bit better until she realized that meant he could have died in the crash. Hell, She almost had.

She had managed to make it maybe a mile by the time she realized she didn't have any water or food. There was no way she was going back, the only thing back that way was marsh water.

"Yeah, probably not a good idea."

Pressing on she tried to keep her spirits high, thinking about how her mom would chew her out once she got back and how hard she was gonna punch Leo when she saw him. It even made her smile her first smile since the crash. When she heard a rustling in the bushes near her she nearly jumped a foot in the air.

It was a young boy, maybe not even ten years old. He was dressed in leathers and had a dirty face.

"Where did you come from? You scared the shi - crap out of me."

The boy just stared at her, which was actually kinda freaking her out. Maybe she had scared him too when she jumped.

"Look, I'm sorry, my names Laura. What's your name?" She asked as she kneeled down to his level and gave him a warm smile.

"Dayne. My names Dayne." He replied in a small soft voice and his gaze turned down to his feet. He was being shy now.

"Well Dayne, can you tell me where your parents are, or where any other people are?"

He seemed to think it over and then he looked up at her and motioned for her to follow him. Laura breathed a sigh of relief as she began to follow the child. Maybe her luck was starting to turn around. His parents could tell her where she was and possibly how to get back home. The thought filled her with hope.

Dayne would look back every now and again to make sure she was still following him. There was no way she was gonna lose track of him, though. Too much was riding on this for her to get lost now.

They passed through bushes and past sharp rocks jutting out of the ground. The birds were singing again, they must have been pretty far from the crash site now. Then she heard talking, laughter, children playing, the sounds of civilization. But when she saw them, it wasn't what she was expecting. They were all dressed in leather like the boy. Ratted hair and dirty faces filled the crowd, and their houses were nothing but huts.

"How far from home am I?"

Laura must have stopped in her tracks because she suddenly felt a hand tugging on her. It was Dayne and he was trying to pull her towards a particular hut. She followed after him, but her hope had already started to dissolve. There was a woman cleaning more leathers and when she saw Dayne with Laura she stood up.

"Dayne, who is this?"

He looked up at her and smiled, "Momma, this is Laura. She fell from the sky!"

He said it with such excitement and his mother looked at him strangely and then looked up at me skeptically. Laura hadn't thought the boy had seen her crash. Then again it probably would have been hard to miss.

"Dayne why don't you go play with the other children, I'll take care of this stranger." His mother said smiling at him but then eyeing Laura suspiciously.

The boy nodded and waved at Laura before running off to play with his friends. The kids smiled and welcomed him back with open arms. They started to play fight with sticks and some of them were making monkey noises. Odd.

"So, where are you from really? My son likes to make up wild stories all the time. I'm not surprised it included someone falling from the sky."

Laura turned back to the mother, who was smiling at her and wiping her hands on her clothes. She could understand why the mother wouldn't believe the story. It really did sound crazy.

"I know it does sound like a made up story, but it's true. I crash landed here, my pod is only a few miles from here. I'm surprised you or your people didn't notice it." Laura replied trying her best to not sound like a crazy person.

"Pod? Listen, Laura, my name is Lilah, I'm not sure where you really come from but did you hit your head? Maybe you just need some water to calm your nerves and think things through." The mother replied as she looked Laura over and then took her hand. "Come inside, you can wash up and get some water and food in your system. Maybe then you can also tell me about where you got those strange clothes."

Laura was going to argue but the thought of getting cleaned up and getting some food into her stayed her. She allowed Lilah to lead her inside and to the table. While she was peeling some fruit for Laura, she allowed her to use their wash basin to clean her face. It really made Laura feel a bit more like herself. After she was done and Lilah presented her with the fruit, she decided to ask some questions of her own.

"Can you tell me where I am?"

Lilah seemed to think about it for a few minutes before replying, "We are one of the few villages far enough from the ape city that they usually don't bother us."

"Well at least that's good ne-," Then Laura registered what she had just been told and she nearly choked on her food. It took Lilah slapping her on her back a few times and a coughing fit before she could speak again. "I'm sorry, I must have heard you wrong, did you just say ape city?"

Lilah nodded then, "Yes, but you don't have to worry, just like I said we are pretty far away. They usually don't come out this far."

Ape City. The city of Apes. An Ape City. Filled with Apes. Laura could swear she could feel her eye twitching. Which would probably explain why Lilah was looking a little frightened of her right now.

"You really aren't from around here are you?"

"No. I'm really not," Laura said as she felt her throat going dry again. She took a sip of water from the cup Lilah had given her with her fruit. Then she ran her hands through her hair and tried to collect her thoughts. She was grateful that Lilah was just letting her think it through herself rather than trying to just throw all this shit at her at once. Laura breathed in deep and then let out a big sigh, "Okay give me the rundown. Tell me about this place."

"We are scarce. Humans have a few villages scattered across the jungle, but most are raided for slaves for the apes. They rule over us and aren't afraid to wipe out entire villages if our population grows too big. They are, merciless." Lilah seemed so upset about it and Laura could see why. How could this have happened? Where in the universe was she? How would she get back?

Then it hit her hard. What if she couldn't get back. What if she was stuck in this place, lost forever. Never to see her mother again, or Leo. Tears started to roll down her cheeks and Lilah seemed very concerned.

"Oh please don't cry, they won't come here, even if they do we have great hiding spots. Don't be scared." She placed her hand on Laura's shoulder. She knew Lilah was trying to comfort her but she couldn't even begin to understand what Laura was going through.

After a few minutes of tears and silence Laura started to feel foolish. How could she just give up on her mother and Leo like that? She needed to pull herself together. If this Ape City took slaves there was a chance, no matter how small that Leo could be there.

If he landed here and survived the crash.

Laura was really getting tired of these annoying depressing thoughts.

Laura suddenly stood and looked down at where Lilah was sitting. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and sniffed. "So, where is this Ape City?"

-

Author's Note: Alright, I hope you are enjoying the story so far and I promise Laura will be meeting the General in the next chapter! I'm really looking forward to it, I hope you are too!


	3. Taken

The hike had been hard on Laura, and she was starting to sweat up a storm. As she wiped her brow, she realized the sun was beginning to set. She would need to find some kind of shelter soon. Laura took a sip from a water satchel Lilah had given her for the journey. Lilah hadn't wanted to tell her where the city was, being as dangerous as it was. But after explaining that she needed to find her friend and save him if need be, she had given in.

Lilah had given her some basic instructions and Laura was sure she would be able to follow them well enough to make it there. The only problem was she wasn't sure how close she was.

Looking around she was able to find a little nook inside a tree trunk. "Not the best accommodations, but I could do worse." She said checking the inside of it.

She took her place inside the tree and wrapped her arms around her legs. Taking an early rest was probably a good idea, who knew what was all in the forest? Laying her head back against the inside of the trunk she sighed to herself. Why did this have to happen? Everything had been going fine in her life up until this point. Laura closed her eyes and tried to will herself to sleep, otherwise, she would have been up all night asking herself why. To her luck she able to fall asleep quite easily.

Screaming. Silence. More screaming. The sound of footsteps, many of them. Laura opened her eyes and wiped the sleep out of them. Stepping out of her tree she stretched to the sky and popped her neck. Screaming again. Looking around frantically she dove back into the tree.

"Damn, I thought that I was just hazy dreaming."

It sounded like it was close by and getting closer. Whatever was going on, she was about to find out. Then she saw them, lots of people running past her tree and seeming panicked and scared. Before she could wonder why she heard a sound she had before, but only on the station. Shrieking.

Laura crouched lower in her tree and tried her best to stay hidden. The sight of them made her eyes widen in surprise. Apes, in armor, grabbing people and dragging them back the way they had come. What she thought couldn't have been true was undoubtedly so. _Stay hidden. Don't let them see you._

She would have stayed that way too, but her damn conscience just wouldn't let her. A young girl was running until she was tackled to the ground. The ape had a tight hold on her and was beginning to take her away. Laura couldn't stop her body from responding. Next thing she knew she was on the apes back and had him in a choke hold. She had managed to take him by surprise and he fell to his knees.

"Run now!" Laura screamed at the girl, who didn't think twice and booked it out of there.

Laura was over powered quite easily and was thrown on to the ground hard, the air knocked out of her. The ape didn't give her a chance to catch her breath before he grabbed her by the hair and started dragging her in the direction they had taken the others. Laura tried to struggle but his grip wasn't budging and at this point, she was only hurting herself more. So she took the petty route and just went limp. Letting all her weight drag and she could tell it was getting on the ape's nerves. She could be a pain in the ass if she wanted too.

It didn't last long though before she was picked up and tossed into a large cage attached to a cart driven by horses. Slowly she went to her feet and looked around. It was full of other humans, some even had wounds from being tackled and thrown about. Laura gripped onto the bars and looked down at the apes as they got on their own horses and the cart was slowly pulled along.

"The apes can ride horses." She whispered to herself in disbelief. Slowly she went back down to the floor. "Well, I guess this is one way to get into the city."

Not what she had planned, but it did work. The carriage rocked and moaned as they went on their way for a bit before she started to hear other voices. Looking through the bars she saw the walls of the Ape City. Turns out she hadn't been all that far from it. Riding through the city she could barely register what she was seeing. Apes in clothing, walking like people, hell she swore she saw one getting a haircut. It was almost just like a human city. The houses were built into the trees and walls, vines and nature were all over. It was actually quite beautiful.

When the cart stopped she stood up with the others. The door was open quickly and people were immediately dragged out and thrown to others to sort. It wasn't until she was in another cage that she met the slave trader, an orangutang named Limbo. He was talking, yes actually talking, to another ape. Looked like they were haggling over the price of a young man. She heard something about field work before the boy was dragged away by his new 'owner'.

"Alright, Let's see this new batch now." He said eyeing the cages. His small eyes looked over every single one of them. It made Laura feel a bit uncomfortable. Before long he let out a scoff and rolled his eyes. "This is what I get to sell, they're all so mangy."

Still, he took them anyway. When he told the other apes to get them clean and ready, Laura thought he just meant washed and something else along those lines. When she saw a burning red brand being pulled off a fire she thought she was gonna kill over. There was no way in hell they were touching her with that thing. They swung open the cage doors and started by grabbing two people with strange metal arms that gripped them around the neck. Next, they pulled them towards the fire and stuck the brand against their skin and then just threw them back into the cages.

Just as they were about to grab another set, three new apes appeared from a set of stairs. One was clearly a chimp, the others were gorillas, one in armor and the other in dark, fancy clothing. They seemed to be in a discussion about something. When the older gorilla raised his hand in silence the chimp looked really angry.

"I know what your thoughts are General, but by now you would know that I don't support such nonsense." He moved towards the cages and motioned to the humans in them. "They are not a real threat to us, there is no chance of them over throwing us."

Although Laura hated to admit it, looking at the humans here, it really didn't look like they ever would. Apes were much stronger than humans, match that with intelligence and they didn't stand a good chance.

"Their numbers grow every day, even with the raids, they don't dwindle enough." The chimp growled eyeing the slaves with disgust. "There is more of a chance than you know or are willing to admit."

Before the gorilla could reply Limbo was on them. "Senator Nald, General Thade, what can I do for you today?"

Senator. The older gorilla was a senator? The chimp, was a general? None of this was going to make sense any time soon. The senator seemed happy with the interruption and walked over to the cages.

"I'm here looking for a human of my very own." He started to look some of them over and then turned back to Limbo and the general. "My house has been too quiet as of late. It would be nice to have some company."

"Excellent!" Limbo exclaimed clapping his hands together. The general didn't seem thrilled with the idea. He glared from the senator to the cages. By chance, Laura met his eyes and felt a cold chill run down her spine. She didn't look away though. For some reason, this felt like some kind of dominance show down. She was just stubborn enough to not back down. Probably not her smartest move.

Suddenly the cage was smacked and it knocked Laura out of the staring contest. It was the other gorilla in armor. "Keep your eyes down Human!"

"There's no need for that Attar, the girl is probably just curious," Nald said in a chastising tone. Laura looked over at the senator then, who was giving her a gentle smile. "Can you speak girl?"

"Senator it's not wise-"

"I believe he directed the question to me," Laura said interrupting Limbo with a raised brow. The senator let out a laugh and smacked the slave trader on the back.

"Look at this fearless thing. Makes eyes at the general and speaks her mind even though she is held captive. You caught one in a million Limbo!"

The senator's smile was contagious and Laura found herself smiling as well. It didn't last long. The general leaped over to the cages and grabbed Laura by the shirt pulling her tightly against the bars.

"This human doesn't know her place. You shouldn't let her get away with such disrespect Senator. Your weak heart could mean the death of us all." He was growling right in her ear. It was making her very uncomfortable.

"Do you always get this close to people you just met or is it just me?" Laura replied locking eyes with the general again. The glare he gave her was deadly and she knew she shouldn't have been pulling his strings, but she couldn't seem to help herself.

"Release her Thade!" The senator called out with a serious expression. "You can't harm what is mine."

That made both Laura and the general pause. _His? What the hell is he talking about?_ "You can't mean to take this one? She should be put down." The general responded still not breaking eye contact with Laura.

Nald came forward and growled loudly, "Release her now!"

Thade slowly released her shirt and turned to the senator. "I didn't mean to anger you, you know I put our safety above everything. Peace between apes and humans would never last and they would find a way to wipe us out."

The senator sighed heavily, seemingly exhausted by the argument. "Let me think on things general, that is all I can say."

Thade seemed to take it but still didn't seem happy with the result. Maybe it wasn't the first time the senator had said he would think on things. Although she didn't want to agree with Thade, Laura could see what he meant. After all the raids, kidnappings, slavery, and sheer brutality, she couldn't see a way that peace could be achieved. There would be humans who would want revenge and would go to great lengths to take it. Even against an ape who was on their side.

"Now if this is done, I would like this girl right here Limbo," Nald said smiling at her again. Laura smiled back and couldn't help but notice the radiating anger coming from the general.

"Let me just get her branded and she's all yours."

Laura could feel the color leave her face at those words. "Yeah, i'm not really okay with the whole branding thing. It looks really painful and I'm not very good with pain."

The senator seemed to think it over before turning back to Limbo. "You heard her, there will be no branding."

For a split second, she thought Limbo's jaw was going to fall to the floor and the general was going to have an aneurysm. But when they saw how serious Nald was they didn't say anything. The cage was opened and Laura stepped out and stood beside the senator. "Do you have a name?"

"Laura."

"Well Laura, are you ready to begin your new life?"

Laura breathed in slowly and then let out the air she was holding. She was going to be this apes slave, she was going to have to do whatever he asked of her. She didn't feel too worried about it seeing as how he had been nothing but kind to her so far. Plus this was the only way she would be able to look around for Leo in the city. There really wasn't a choice in this.

"Yes, I'm ready."

The senator turned and began to walk away. Laura followed him but stopped when she felt holes being burned into her back. Looking back the general was glaring at her so hard his eyes were mere slits. What possessed her to push his buttons she didn't know but she just couldn't help herself.

As she disappeared from view she looked back one last time, locked eyes with Thade and smirked deviously.


	4. A New Home

Senator Nald led Laura through the marketplace on their way back to his home. He made sure to point out all the traders and their different items. The fruit stand was owned by an older chimp who waved others over to check out his fresh goods. The stand where they sold silks was owned by a female orangutang who seemed to smile at everyone who came to look. Laura wanted to stop and admire the silks; they were all so colorful. Reds, greens, yellows, and rich browns. But unfortunately she had to stay close to her new 'master'.

Laura suddenly stopped in place when she noticed a certain stall. Laying on it, in all different designs and colors, were collars. Her hand instinctively went to her throat.

"Laura, you'll want to keep up. Fall too far behind and you may become lost."

She quickly went to catch up with the senator and tried to push the collars out of her mind. As she fell back into step with him, he chuckled at her. "I'm guessing you haven't seen so many goods in one place before?"

As much as she wanted to tell him the truth and see his reaction, there was some part of her that told her messing with him would be even more dangerous than the general. So she stopped herself and decided to go with the lie. "No I haven't, It's quite a sight."

"Well once I have the time, I shall find someone to give you a tour of the city. I'm usually rather busy otherwise, I would do it myself."

Being a senator she could see what he meant. Although she did wonder what he actually worked on. It was a short time before they passed all the stalls and were walking down a dirt path. Seeing his home made her stop in her tracks. There was a tree, strong and huge, growing near the side of the rocks. Its branches were wide, thick, and holding up the senator's house. It was round with a porch circling around it. It looked cozy and big enough for a family.

Besides the beautiful house, she noticed one other thing. Guards, lots of them. They were all gorilla, standing at attention. She noticed they looked over at her briefly before going back to how they were.

"Don't be afraid, they won't harm you." Laura realized the senator was standing before her. "What do you think?"

"Your home looks very beautiful."

Nald smiled and motioned toward the stairs that led up to his home. Laura stepped forward and headed up the stairs and to the door. She waited till the senator gave a notion that it was okay to open the door. Laura reached for the knob and was surprised to find it unlocked. With all the security she guessed he didn't have too.

The inside was just as lovely as the outside. The wood work was a warm color, and the furniture looked comfy and fit the senator well. The living room was separate from the dining room by vines that hung in an archway. When she passed through them she noticed the dining room was big with a large wooden table, sturdy and dark. There were yellow flowers in a vase in the middle of the table. The kitchen was up a few steps and was pretty simple. Laura guessed he didn't entertain much. He seemed like more of a solitary ape.

When she turned back to the senator she noticed he was eyeing her, watching for her reaction perhaps. "It's very lovely," Laura said with a soft smile.

"My dear there is something we must discuss. The rules and regulations you will need to follow. As well as how you must behave." Before Laura could speak up, Nald raised his hand to silence her. "I enjoy the fact that you speak your mind. But others will not, I have some power, but there are others with more. If they saw how you acted at the slave market they would have done as the general had suggested and put you down."

Laura looked at the floor and felt her jaw clench. She knew she had taken a risk saying the things she had, but to think that she could have been put to death so easily made her realize exactly what position she was in. Nald came forward and pulled her face up to look at him. "This is your safe haven. Here, when we are alone, you can speak your mind and I will treat you with a modicum of respect." His words made her feel a bit better.

"So what you are telling me, is to play pretend with everyone else? Pretend to be a slave like all the others?"

"You catch on quick. But you will also have to act better than them, being that you belong to me." Nald led her to the dining table and sat down, motioning for her to join him. She acquiesced to his request and sat across from him. "Now, I know that you will need some time to get used to it, but we will have to change your name."

Even though she hated the idea of that she knew he was right. Keeping her name from before would put him in question. Laura felt her hands tighten, she felt worried she would lose herself in this place. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed and released her grip. Filling herself with determination, she promised herself she would master this game and in time find Leo. But in the meantime, she had to keep herself alive.

"What did you have in mind?"

"I'm going to call you Dahlia. It is the name of a yellow flower, which petals can be round or spiky. I think it will suit you just fine." He spoke the last part with a chuckle.

Dahlia, it would take her time to get used to it. What if someone tried to call her name and she didn't realize they meant her. That would be a bit awkward. She made a mental note to get used to it as quickly as possible.

"There will be more to learn but for now, let's get you some food and I think you would enjoy a nice wash."

Laura did like the sound of that, very much so in fact. The senator brought in a bowl of fruit and they ate together. Nald talked to her about his work, how he was trying to make things better for humans. So far he had at least made it to where apes weren't allowed to beat their humans out in the open. But he knew it was still happening behind closed doors. Laura felt bad for him, it had to be hard trying to change things for the better. Especially when there are others with more power who felt completely different about the concept.

After she washed the dirt and grim off she felt more like herself. Looking into the mirror she realized this place couldn't change her unless she let it. She still had the same dark hair and light blue eyes. Laura still felt like Laura, even if she was going to be called something else. A game, that's all this was.

There was a knock on the door that surprised her. "I have some clothes for you here, tomorrow I will have some better ones. For now, these should be fine. I will leave them here in front of the door."

"Thank you."

She heard him walk away and she walked over to the door and opened it slightly. She didn't see him and she kneeled down and quickly picked up the clothes and shut the door. They looked like simple servant clothes. Laura put them on and walked out. She had to admit, they were a little itchy. She found Nald in the living room with a book.

They could read. The apes could read. She really needed to stop being so surprised by everything but she just couldn't help it. Laura went and sat down next to him. "I need to know more about how to act if I'm going to play this game."

Nald seemed surprised but put down his book and continued from earlier. "You will have to call me master around other apes. Here you can call me Nald. You must always be respectful of other apes. You mustn't let them realize how you truly are."

"Which is?"

"Smart, your own person, confident, they will take all this and smash it to dust."

Laura nodded and bit her lip. This was going to be harder then she thought. Sarcasm was going to be really hard to quit. This game would be difficult, especially with the general. He had already seen how she truly was, he wouldn't be fooled. But maybe she could make that work. A different game that would only involve them. It made her grin, just the thought of pissing him off. Laura had a feeling other humans didn't try him like she did. The stakes were even more raised because he couldn't touch her and he had to keep his composure when they were around other apes.

"It is getting late my dear, you should get some rest." Nald broke her out of her thoughts. "Come with me, I'll lead you to your bed."

Nald opened a door to reveal a cage door. Two doors. The inside looked like a normal bedroom, but the cage door told her all she needed to know. This was her cell. "Don't think too harshly of me, I tried to make it as homey as I could. But when others do come over they must know that you are kept in a cage."

She did have a window, it also had bars over it but she would still be able to see outside. Laura walked forward into the cage and told herself it was just another part of the game. "You will only have to be in here at night to sleep. The rest of the day you will be out."

She couldn't stop herself from swinging around and glaring at him, "Why? Why are you treating me so different from how all the other humans are treated?"

Nald didn't seem surprised by her question and he walked into the cage and sat on her bed. "My late wife was a human sympathizer. She believed that humans and apes could live in peace. I blieved as she did, but I wasn't as forceful then as I am now. I knew when you spoke that if I left you there, they would of killed you. So I took you instead, not that it didn't fit with what I wanted. I was looking for a human anyway." He looked up at Laura with a sad smile. "My wife would of liked you. She always thought humans should speak up more. You and her would of been fast friends."

Well, know Laura just felt like a complete ass. She walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"How could you? Don't worry about it." Nald patted her hand and stood up, making his way to the door. "You get some rest, we will talk more in the morning."

With that, he closed both of the doors and left Laura alone. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "Well done Laura, would you like to make anyone else feel like shit tonight?" It was then that she realized she had been talking to herself a lot since she crashed. Maybe she was slowly losing her mind. At this point, it wouldn't surprise her.

She walked over to the bed and laid down. Tomorrow would be a new day, Laura was going to have to remember all that Nald had told her and put it into action. Who knew what would happen while she was here. "I swear Leo, your ass had better have landed here or I'm going to be pissed."

Sorry, it took so long to update. But here is chapter 4! I would like to thank sisterawesomeness and Puffgirl1952 the 2nd for the awesome reviews! I promise Chapter 5 will be up before you know it!


	5. The Market Incident

The sun streaming through the window was what awoke Laura the next morning. She blinked and covered her eyes from the harsh rays with a loud groan. She was never very good when it came to mornings. Raising up slightly she stretched and let out a yawn. When she looked around, the first thing she noticed was that her doors were open. "Guessing that means Nald is awake."

Laura threw the covers off of her and headed into the living room. Nald was sitting on the couch, a box was sitting on the table in front of him. He seemed comfortable, sitting and reading. Laura couldn't help but wonder if he had been waiting for her to get up. Looking at the box again she wondered what could be inside.

"I see you are curious. No need to be, It is yours." Nald said dropping his book from his face and motioning towards the box. "Consider it a gift."

Laura didn't know what to say so she went and sat by the senator and picked up the box. Feeling a little cautious, she carefully opened it. Looking inside the box she noticed beautiful colors of material. She picked them up and looked them over. They were various outfits and they all looked quite lovely.

"Nald, I don't think these were made for humans," Laura said turning to face him.

"Technically no, but you will notice there are few other slaves who will also dress this way. They also belong to senators and people of power. They feel that their humans reflect on them. So they dress them according to their rank. The higher an ape rises, the more beautiful the clothes are that their slaves wear. Unless they are house slaves. This only extends to the humans they send out in public on errands."

Laura nodded and sat the garments down on the table when she noticed that there was something else in the box. Seeing what it was she swallowed hard. "A collar."

Nald placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know it will be hard for you, but you wont be able to leave the house without it." He picked it up and Laura noticed the designs engraved in to it. "This collar will be one of the first things the others will see. It has the engravings to let them know you belong to me. You will not be harmed."

"Are other humans usually hurt if they don't belong to someone of power?"

Nald looked at the floor as he set the collar on the table. "It has been known to happen. This place is dangerous for your kind. We must take every precaution."

She took the collar into her hands and felt the weight of it. Maybe she wouldn't even notice it when it was on. Knowing she was lying to herself she set the collar back down.

"Thank you, for the clothes. They are beautiful. But I can't thank you for that." She said looking down.

Nald chuckled and rose from his seat. "I didn't expect you to thank me for that. But you are welcome for the clothes." He went into the dining room and came back quickly with a piece of paper. "Your breakfast is in the kitchen after you eat, I need you to go out and pick up some food. Everything I need is written down here."

She took the paper and looked it over. It was mostly fruit and other small things. "Do you remember the fruit merchant we saw on our way here?" Laura nodded. "When you get to him, just hand him this and he will get you everything you need."

"Alright, I'll get it done."

He smiled and headed for the door. "I'm sure you will. I need to head out and get to work. Be careful out there, 'Dahlia'."

With that, he left her alone in the house. "Right, I'm really gonna have to get used to that name, or I'm gonna fuck things up royally."

Laura ate quickly and then got dressed in one of the new garments. It was a soft yellow dress that fell just below her knees and the sleeves fell off her shoulders but the straps kept it in place nicely. It really was quite beautiful. She let out a loud sigh as she looked back over at the table, at the collar sitting there. Laura picked it up and put it on quickly. Trying to do it without thinking of what it meant.

Leaving the house she walked along the small trail until she came back to the market. It was just as busy as yesterday, everyone crowded in and looking for the things they needed. Now that she knew what to look for she noticed a few other humans dressed in silks and nice materials getting things at the shops. Their collars were engraved like hers, but they each had different designs.

It didn't take her long to find the fruit seller. He was the older chimp, who was loudly yelling into the crowd to come and check out his stock. When she stopped in front of his stand he barely looked at her. That annoyed her a bit, so she cleared her throat loudly to get his attention. He snapped his attention to her and looked like he was about to yell at her until he noticed her collar. "My, my, you must be senator Nald's new human. I had heard but almost took it as just a rumor. What can I help him with?"

Laura handed the chimp the note and he quickly got to work putting the things into a bag for her. She really didn't like this chimp. He seemed sleazy, and ill-mannered, unless you were part of the right household. Suddenly she heard the sound of hoof beats and she turned just in time to see horses stop right in front of her. Sitting on top of the large beasts was the General and his Second. They didn't seem to notice her at first as they looked over the market. They were talking about guard postings. Nothing very interesting.

"Good morning General, you seem to be doing well." She made sure to make it loud enough for him to hear. She swears she heard the fruit seller stop in his tracks to watch the exchange.

The general snapped his attention down towards her and she was met with a nasty glare. "You shouldn't be speaking to your betters human." His second spoke harshly. "It could get you killed."

Laura raised her eyebrows and made a dramatic display of looking around the horses and behind her. "My name is Dahlia not human, and it's a good thing there is no one I consider my better around then."

Faster than she expected the general was off his horse and standing in front of her, right in her face. "If I had my way, you wouldn't be able to walk around here like you own this place human."

Laura glared right back and gave a devious smirk before replying, "No, if you had your way, I would be crawling at your feet." He gave a deep growl as a response and she smiled. "Imagining it, are we?"

She was slammed against the stand, his hand wrapped tightly around her throat. The fruit seller let out a yelp and hid under his counter. Fucking coward.

"It would be so easy to just squeeze until the light left your eyes." He made sure to squeeze tighter to get his point across. Laura stared back at him in defiance and gripped onto his wrist, she knew he was too strong to move. She was losing air and it wouldn't be long until she lost herself to darkness. Thinking quickly she realized his body was right up against hers and it made her realize the perdicament they were both in. Laura smiled and ran her thumb over his hand. He snapped his attention to her motion, looked down and then looked back up at her. She raised her eyebrows, almost to as if to say, 'I didn't know you felt this way'.

"Thade, she belongs to the senator, if you kill her he isn't going to be pleased." His second said dragging them both out of the moment. With a loud growl, he released Laura and she began to cough and gulp up air. Still, she smiled at the pain and started to laugh when she could. "Am I the only one you shower with your attention?"

He slammed his hands on either side of her and got close enough to whisper in her ear. "There will be a time when you are all alone, and when you are, I'll make sure you don't come back."

That made a shiver crawl down her spine and she nearly lost her nerve. She watched as he climbed back on his horse. "I'll be waiting, Thade."

Without a reply, he tapped on his horse and they both rode away. Laura felt her knees weaken and she had to keep a tight grip on the fruit stand to keep her balance.

"You must be the craziest human I've ever seen." She realized it was the fruit seller who spoke. "No human has ever spoken to him that way, not if they wanted to keep living. Whatever he threatened you with, you better know he means."

She smiled as she placed her hand at her throat and massaged it. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he does."

After she got the bags, she headed back to the house. Lucky for her there were no surprises. She had to admit she was going to feel a bit paranoid for a while. But she couldn't help but feel like she had won that little exchange. It made her have a smile for the rest of the walk.

Once she was back and had everything put up, she went and looked in the mirror. Lucky for her there was no bruise. But she swore she could almost still feel his hand wrapped around her throat. Maybe it was because of the collar. She took it off and looked at herself for a minute. She still looked like herself. It suddenly seemed to hit her that if she hadn't belonged to the senator, he would of killed her and no one would of cared. She felt a wave of nausea wash over her and she had to grip onto the sink to keep from collapsing.

Laura tried to calm herself by humming old songs to herself. She let go of the sink and headed into the living room. Still humming she started to move to the tune until she was lost in the rytheme. Everything seemed to melt away and she was back in her room aboard the Oberon. She almost expected to see Leo snickering at her from across the room. Laura was snapped out of it when she heard the door suddenly slam open. Everything was back to reality and she realized the noise had been made by the senator. He wasn't suppose to be home yet.

He rushed over to her and started to look her over. "Are you alright?! He didn't hurt you did he?!" He was speaking so quickly she almost didn't realize what he meant. "How dare he touch you, he thinks he can just run over everyone as long as he thinks he's 'protecting' us!"

"Nald!" That seemed to get his attention and she smiled at him. "I'm fine, he just shook me up a bit." His attention seemed to snap towards her throat and he started to inspect it. How did he even know what happened? There was no way the general or his second would tell him.

"When the fruit merchant sent the message I thought Thade might have seriously hurt you." That caught Laura by surprise until she realized why he would do it. Probably thought he would get some reward or something. Sleazy little chimp.

"Are you really alright?"

Laura thought it was sweet how he cared about her but it also seemed a little odd. Maybe he felt responsible for her after he saved her. "Yes, I promise."

He let out a sigh of relief and then glared towards the door. "If he ever comes near you again, I will make sure he never gets anything past the senate. I will cripple his entire army!"

This seemed like it was about more then just her. He was a senator and Thade was the general, yet he still disobeyed Nald. Maybe Nald felt disrespected. Still when he said that, Laura felt a bit upset. Thade was suppose to be hers to torment. If Nald had his way, she would never get the chance again. Plus if Thade kept his promise, he would lose everything. This game only involved her and him. Maybe she shouldn't of pushed so hard so fast. Then again Thade brought it out in her. He tried to make her feel like she was nothing, and she was determined to fight back.

Since Nald was already home, they had dinner together. Nald kept shifting his gaze to her neck, like there was something there. Laura tried to keep his attention on other things. She talked about seeing others like her in the market and asked about what he had done that day. Finally she gave up and decided to head outside for some fresh air. Laura sat on the porch and took in the nice view.

"You must be Nald's new human."

Laura turned towards the voice and saw a female chimp standing at the base of the stairs.

"Yes, my name is Dahlia. You are?"

"My name is Ari, I'm the daughter of one of the senators. Do you mind if I join you?"

She seemed genuine and kind. Laura nodded and watched as she climbed up the stairs and sat beside her. Ari let out a sigh, "I heard about what happened in the market place. Thade can be cruel, you must becareful around him."

Laura looked over at her and placed her head in her hands. "What do you know about him, Ari?"

Ari seemed surprised by the question but still she replied, "I've known him since we were children. His father filled him with hatered from the start. He's never been kind to your people. He used to get mad at me for taking in stray humans. I didn't care, I think humans are capable of just about everything that we are. You just need a chance to prove it."

Laura smiled at the young chimp, "I think you and me are gonna be good friends Ari."

"I hope so."

"Ari, what are you doing here? Did your father send you?" Nald had appeared at the door way and was smiling at her.

"I came to deliver a message and because I wanted to meet Dahlia." Ari stood and headed over to the senator. "My father, along with some other senators are throwing a party. There will be dancing, food, drinks, and lots of talking about what to do with the humans. Boring stuff really."

"Except for the food and drink part." Laura piped in with a smile.

"Yes except for that part."

"When is this party taking place, Ari?" Nald asked after giving Laura a smile.

"Oh, it will take a few days. Everyone has to get everything set up and people have to be invited."

The senator seemed to think it over before looking at Laura and then back to Ari. "You can tell your father that we will be there."

We? Did he mean her too? Laura almost wanted to laugh out loud at that. Her, at a party filled with apes. No not just apes, but apes that actually held powerful positions. Things were never gonna be normal again. Ari seemed to like the idea of Laura coming. She seemed to brighten up more about the party. Laura could tell she was really going to enjoy her company. Maybe, even friendship was in the future.


	6. An Inch From Death

"Ari, can you pass the pears?" Laura asked as she smiled at her new friend. After last night Ari had invited her to her place to have dinner. Her fathers house was just as big as Nald's. He even had a few human servants. Laura had yet to meet him though, Ari had told her he was very busy with work. Ari did tell her that she would see him at the party though. Ari passed the pears and Laura took a bite. "You are very different from the humans I've met so far."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Laura replied with a big grin. Ari chuckled as a response and placed her head in her hands. "So tell me, what will this party be like?"

"I guess calling it a party isn't really a correct term for it. It's mostly so other apes can get a say in our politics. The ones invited will get a chance to speak to the senators and tell them how they see things. The senators can choose to listen or not. Usually they go based on numbers, whichever opinion they hear the most of they will take into consideration. Our city isn't so big that they can just do whatever they want without the general population figuring it out."

"What is the general opinion?"

Ari shook her head and sighed, "General Thade and some of the other senators have done their best to spread fear of the humans among the common people. The few like Senator Nald have done their best to curb the damage of their words, but there's only so much they can do."

Laura thought hard and placed her finished pear on her plate. "Then maybe, we need to change the Senators views on my people." Ari looked up at her and raised her brows. "Do you have a plan?"

"Nothing set in stone, I won't really know what to do till I meet them and see the damage." She ran her hand through her hair and leaned back in her seat. "From what you're telling me, it doesn't sound very promising though."

At that moment they heard a heavy thump come from the balcony which wasn't far from the dining room table. "Why am I not surprised to find **her** here." The voice was gravelly and it made Laura smile as she turned her head towards the balcony.

"Thade, there is a door," Ari said as she stood up from the table. It almost looked like Ari was trying to shield Laura from his view.

"What is she doing here Ari?" He asked his gaze shifting from her to Laura. "I invited her, she is my guest," Ari replied crossing her arms. "Though I fail to see how its any of your business." Laura didn't hide her chuckle. Ari wasn't taking any of his dominant shit.

Thade narrowed his eyes and growled a warning, "She's a bad influence on you, she shouldn't be here."

"You can speak to me directly you know," Laura said, finally deciding to pitch in. She crossed her legs and got comfortable. "Then again, I guess you can always speak to me at the party. It seems my master is insisting that I attend with him."

His gaze landed back on her and he took a step closer. "You don't belong there. All of your kind should be destroyed. The sooner they give me the order the better."

"Aw, you wound me. I thought after our lovely market encounter you would have seen my charms by now. Especially when you got so close."

The look of pure hatered that came over his face was enough to make Laura feel empowered. He looked like he was gonna launch himself at her, but Ari stepped between them and kept her gaze locked on the general. "What are you doing here Thade? You must have some business."

It seemed like he had to force himself to calm down before he replied. "I need to speak with your father, I thought he would be here."

"He's out, lately he's been very busy with the party and everything else. You can find him elsewhere. I'll tell him you stopped by." Ari was hoping that would suffice. He let out a huff and cast a last look at Laura before heading back to the balcony.

Once he was gone Ari turned on Laura. "Do you have any idea how much danger you are in right now?" She sat back down and placed a hand over Laura's. "He will not rest until you pay for his humiliation." Laura didn't doubt her, but she needed to get his attention. He needed to know that the market incident was known to her master. She had just assured the fact that he would come for her soon.

After a while, it started to get dark and Laura headed to the door. "Are you sure you don't want me to walk you home? What if something happens to you?" Ari asked looking out the door with worry written all over her face.

"Ari, I'll be fine. I'm sure the guards will keep the senators property safe enough to get home." Laura replied rolling her eyes at the notion of her being property to anyone. She then walked down the stairs and through the dark city. The guards were on patrol and no one really bothered her, even though there was a curfew for humans. Her collar probably already told them everything they needed to know. But after a while she started to feel eyes on her and the hair on the back of her neck stood up.

She found herself getting nervous and looking around her, but she didn't see anyone staring at her. Laura rubbed the back of her neck and continued on her way. Until she heard something and she stopped completely. Whoever it was, they felt close, much too close for comfort.

"Human!"

Laura felt herself jump at the words and gasped loudly. It was just one of the guards. "Do you have a reason for being out this late?" Laura did what her master had told her to do if she got stopped by anyone. She produced a note from her pocket and handed it to him. He took it and read it quickly before giving it back to her. "You had better get back quick human."

"Dahlia. I have a name, my master gave it to me. You should learn to use it." She replied before heading back down the road and towards Nald's. After the encounter, she couldn't feel eyes on her anymore. Her nervousness vanished and she told herself she had just been freaking herself out. That it had been nothing.

Once she was back she noticed Nald at the table doing some paperwork. "How was your visit?" Laura walked over to him and sat down across from him. "It was good, we talked about the party." She had no intention of telling him that Thade had shown up.

The next day Nald informed her that they would be heading into the market to get her a dress for the party. While Laura was a bit excited for the event she was also nervous. How could she change the minds of apes that didn't even know her? It was going to take some real finesse.

Once they arrived at the stalls, Nald turned to her, "Why don't you look around while I find something nice for you. I'm sure there's plenty here to entertain you."

While Laura was thinking of protesting, the thought passed her mind that she might be able to catch a glimpse of Leo if he were here. She nodded at her master and headed in a random direction. For a while she was optimistic about her search but all she found were servants and other apes. Throughout her search, she kept getting pushed and stepped on in the crowds. So when she saw an empty alley way she dove for it and looked through the other side. Looking through the crowd she still couldn't see any trace of leo there at all. Laura swallowed hard and tried to keep faith. Just as she was about to take a step out she felt someone grab her by the back of the neck and pull her back into the alley way.

Laura let out a yelp of surprise and felt the air escape her lungs when her back hit the rock behind her. There was a hand pressed against her mouth and a dagger pressed against her throat. The general was looking down at her with a smug look and growled in her ear, "This is how you die, in a back alley, by my hand. You should of kept your mouth shut like the others." Laura felt her heart beating fast and tried to calm herself enough so she could speak. "What? No smart remark?" He pressed the dagger closer to her neck.

She closed her eyes briefly from the feel of the metal against her skin and felt her whole body shutter. That only seemed to make him feel more gratified and he pulled the dagger back away from her neck and at first she felt relief, until he placed his hand there instead. For a second she thought he was going to snap her neck and get it over fast, but he didn't he just let his hand rest there and didn't move. Laura looked up at him and noticed his eyes were closed. What was he doing?

It then hit her that he was feeling her heart race against his fingers. It was almost like he wasn't even there anymore. He was taking great satisfaction in making her fear him. She had to get his hand off her mouth and quick. Laura thought for a moment and then she placed her hand on the back of his head and she pulled his hair. His arm shot from her mouth to pin her arm against the rock and his grip tightened on her throat. He wasn't happy to be brought back to reality.

"He knows." Those were the only words she could think of to say to get his attention. It seemed to work well enough because he loosened his grip on her neck. "What are you talking about?" He asked staring right into her eyes, making sure she wasn't trying to trick him. "My master, he knows about the market place, about what you did."

His glare was back and he gripped her neck harder again,"You said something to him?" Laura actually smiled and let out a dry chuckle. "No, not me. The fruit merchant, I'm guessing he thought he could get something out of my master for the information." Thade seemed to be thinking over what she said so she continued, "He's really pissed at you. Told me he would make sure you couldn't get anything past the senate. He would cripple your army. Everything you hold dear."

Thade released her throat and her arm, he pulled away from her completely and seemed to be seething to himself. "I don't think its just about me. You are ignoring the fact he is a senator. I'm his 'property', you can't threaten what is his, remember?" He let out a gruff huff and turned back to her. "Why warn me? Afraid to die just to take everything away from me?"

"I'm not just here because of myself. I have other reasons. I can't die now just to get back at you. Plus I have my own reasons to keep you where you are." Laura replied rubbing her neck and then wiping dirt off of her dress. Then she got an idea and walked over to where the general stood. "Take me back to him."

The general snarled at her, "I doubt the senator will be happy to see you in my company." Laura rolled her eyes at him, "I have a plan, now you can either do it or keep walking a thin line with him, which is it gonna be?"

He didn't seem happy with the alternative she had given him but he reached out and snagged her wrist tightly. The force made her flinch and he smirked at her pain. What an asshole. He led her out of the alley way and pulled her into the market place. "He's where the silks are," Laura said when he turned on her for directions. He then pulled her after him and found Nald rather easily.

The minute he saw Thade had Laura by the wrist he looked like he was about to blow up. "What is this?! You will release her-" Before the senator could continue Laura stepped between them and stopped Nald in his tracks. "It wasn't his fault, it was mine!" Nald's eyes widened at that and he placed his hands on her shoulders. "What are you talking about Dahlia?"

She looked back at Thade and gave him a pointed look before looking back at her 'master'. "I got lost in the alley ways. I thought I knew the market better than I really do. If he hadn't of found me, I could have stayed lost for quite a while." Nald seemed to think over her words before turning to Thade. "Is this true general?"

Thade looked at Laura with suspicion before replying to Nald, "The alley ways are dangerous senator, you should keep a closer eye on her in the future." Nald looked at the general and then at Laura. She smiled at him and nodded. "Thank you for returning her to me. Maybe I was wrong to assume." Nald said with a strained voice. He still didn't seem to trust the general, but it looked like things were better then they had been. "Come along Dahlia, I found what we came for." Laura nodded and watched as her master turned and started towards the path home.

When she went to follow after him she felt Thade grab her wrist again and she turned back towards him. "I don't know what kind of game your playing-"

"That's exactly it though general, It is a game," Laura said cutting him off and pulling her arm back away from him. "A game I intend to win."

A few hours later Ari arrived at senator Nald's house. Apparently, Nald had sent a message to Ari to see if she would show Laura around the city. She seemed happy to do it and before long they were on their way. "So how did your morning go?" She asked as they passed other apes along the way. Seeing as how Laura felt she could trust Ari, she couldn't help but tell her the truth. It was bottling up inside her and she needed to tell someone.

Ari was stunned and didn't seem to know what to say. "I know, I'm completely insane. You don't have to tell me." Laura said with a smirk. Ari shook her head at her, "No it's more than that. It seems like you have completely surprised him. He's not an ape easily surprised." She almost seemed like she was smiling at the very thought of it. "Maybe you have what it takes to deal with the senate."

Laura shook her head, "I wouldn't go that far yet. Thade's weakness is his ambition and pride. The senate may not be as easy." Ari stopped and took Laura's hand in hers. "You must try, I will do what I can to help and you know Nald will as well." Seeing the look of hope on Ari's face she couldn't bear to show her her fear. "Alright. Then I guess I will just have to try my hardest, won't I? There is going to be plenty I'll need to know. Would you mind helping me get ready?" Ari smiled at her and nodded. Maybe this really could work, or she could end up executed, only one way to find out.


	7. Getting Ready And A Warning

The morning was quiet as Laura laid in bed trying to will herself to get up. Tonight was the night and she could already feel the nervousness creeping into her gut. Last night as Ari and her walked the city she told her what she would need to know and what senators to interact with. Senator Nado was an older orangutang whose views went along with his cruel wife. They thought humans were a plague on their civilization and needed to be taken care of. His wife, Nova, because she found them to be horrible creatures, and Nado for more political reasons.

The chimp senator Rem's views were on the fence. He kept seeming to go back and forth on the issue. That was going to be hard to change and keep that way, especially when it all came down to the general senate opinion. Then came another gorilla senator whose views were that the humans had no art or culture, so he didn't see why they deserved to be treated any better than common animals.

And finally came Ari's father Sandar, he seemed a bit complicated to her. Thade was an old friend of his and yet he also wanted to understand his daughter's views on humans. He could be more difficult, especially since he is being pulled in two different directions by people he cared about.

The good news was she only needed to change these views. The other senators seemed to follow those four on opinions. So far Laura's plan was to get them each alone and assess whether she would be able to make a dent at all. She pulled herself up out of bed and smacked both her cheeks lightly and put on her game face. Laura had to pull this off, plus the general was going to be there and he would just love to see her fail.

Laura got up and went to the bathroom and bathed herself. Ari was nice enough to buy her some smelling soaps from the marketplace and she was actually excited to use them. She took a big whiff of one and smiled to herself, it smelled of lavender. The warm water and the flowery scent was actually starting to calm her nerves. She could do this, hell, she **would** do this!

Feeling much more sure of herself she got out of the tub and dressed quickly. She had yet to see the dress Nald had gotten for her. He had told her he wanted it to be a surprise. Laura had decided to spend her time that day reading some of the books that Nald had. She had to wonder where they came from. Sitting outside in the sun with a glass of water and reading his books, she suddenly felt eyes on her again. When she looked out, she realized the guards who usually kept watch over the senators house, weren't there. Laura put the book down and stood up.

Nothing, they were gone. Maybe they were going to be getting ready for the party as well. They were going to need some guards as well. Still, she felt eyes on her and a tingle went down her spine. Laura turned to go back into the house and she nearly ran right into the general. She felt herself jump and let out a small squeal. When she realized it was him she fell back into the chair with a sigh and ran her hand through her hair.

"You scared the shit out of me, what are you doing sneaking up on me like that?!" She asked exasperatedly from her fear. Laura wasn't really expecting an answer from him and glared when he let out a smug huff. She watched as he walked around her, his eyes never leaving her. Laura felt like something was different, so she kept her eyes on him as well. "Is your master still bringing you?"

"Yes, he already bought me a dress." She eyed him suspiciously. They had never had a normal conversation before so she doubted it was going to happen now. He had come here for some reason and she wanted to know why. He started to pace then, looking down at the floor and occasionally shaking his head. Thade seemed to be thinking to himself , maybe even he didn't know why he was there. For some reason all the normal sarcasm and quips she would of used on him seemed to leave her mind.

"Thade."

He stopped then and turned towards her, he looked irritated that she had interrupted his thoughts.

"What's going on?" Her voice was soft and she sat up straighter. Even Laura couldn't believe how sincere she sounded, but something was wrong. Whatever it was she wanted to know and also wanted to know why he would be the one to tell her.

Suddenly he turned on her quick, walked over to her and gripped onto the arms of the chair she was sitting in. He leaned in and she pressed her back into the chair. He was glaring at her hard and the intensity was almost enough to make her look away.

"You could have said nothing about your master, you could have even told him the truth when I led you to him. So don't think that me telling you what I'm about to tell you means anything."

Laura seemed shocked that he was willing to help her in any way. Did he think that he owed her something just because she helped him before? She would have laughed but he seemed very serious. Her expression softened and she sat back up which made her face come closer to his. "You don't owe me anything. I told you I had my own reasons, don't think I did it from some soft part of my heart or anything."

He snarled at her and grabbed her by the back of the neck hard, pulling her out of the chair. "Don't say anything to the senators." Forgetting about the pain she was in she looked him straight in the eye. Was he serious? That's what this was about? Was he afraid she was going to tell them he did something to her?

"What do you think I'm going to tell them Thade? That you like getting me alone in dark alley ways, pinning me to walls, and pressing yourself up against me? You think they wouldn't approve?" She practically spits the words out and hissed when his grip tightened to the point where he brought her to her knees.

"This isn't a joke or part of your sick game human!" Thade replied releasing her neck. Laura fell forward on one hand and rubbed the back of her neck. "You think you can change things, but you're going to be putting a huge target on your back. You think I want to kill you, just wait till you open your mouth to them. The very act of your master bringing you is an insult to some of them."

He was . . . warning her. Hold the phone. Was he **worried** about her? Laura looked up at him and actually felt a bit bad for assuming his intentions. But not that bad because nothing from his previous actions added up to this. "You would have me stay silent and let it all continue?"

"Yes, let the pieces fall where they are supposed to. You can't fix this anyway. Humans and apes will never cooperate."

"Maybe they would if you would stop spreading your venom everywhere you look! Stop making the population see us as a boogie man, isn't it bad enough that they see us as pets and slaves?!" When she watched him roll his eyes at her and let out a frustrated growl she knew they would never come to an agreement.

Laura went to get to her feet but was stopped by the general holding her down by the shoulder. Laura looked up at him with a puzzled look. It was then that she noticed he was smirking at her. That was the first time she had ever seen that but from her own experience from doing that she knew he was about to say something rude.

"You look better on your knees, Laura."

Her whole face turned blood-red, and she felt a shiver go down her spine. He had actually went there. Not only that but he even used her real name. She didn't even think he remembered it. That was like, double points. Laura didn't know what to say, she never expected him to take the shot or play the game. She didn't even think he knew what he implied by that until he saw her face go red, because he quickly backed up and glared at her. He may of been angry at himself but he was also somewhat gratified by the fact he got her.

Laura quickly got to her feet and rubbed her face. "Okay, you got me, but remember this. We are both going to be at that party and I can't wait to see what I come up with there." She walked right up to him and got so close their foreheads could touch. "Consider this, your warning."

Thade snarler at her but she merely walked back towards the door. "You should go now, my master will be home soon." The general didn't seem to move though. She turned her head back to face him. "I'll see you tonight, Thade."

She almost giggled when she watched him flinch from using his name. But now it was time for her to go inside. Once her master arrived they would get ready for the party in earnest. Laura had never felt more ready.

Her master had come in not soon after and from seeing how excited he was she was guessing that he hadn't run into Thade on his way home. "This is going to be big Laura. A human has never been brought to one of these parties before." He said as he headed into his bedroom and came back out with a box. "Think of yourself as an ambassador for your kind tonight."

Well, no pressure. Laura was feeling pretty positive but it was going to be difficult. Nald seemed to believe in her though, and Ari said she would also have her back. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. At that moment though the general's warning rang in her ears. He may have been right, but she couldn't just let things stay the way they were. Something had to change.

"As such, you should also look the part," Nald said bringing Laura's attention back to him. At that moment he was pulling the lid off the box. He motioned for her to come forward and see the dress. It was a beautiful shade of dark red. Laura pulled the dress out of the box and marveled at it. It was absolutely beautiful.

"I love it Nald!" She said, still in shock from how it looked. Laura quickly went into the bathroom and changed into the dress. It fit her like a glove and she kept turning in the mirror. Looking at herself she decided to put her hair up, placing it high up on her head and letting some small hairs hang down. When she came back into the living room she smiled when Nald's jaw dropped. It reminded her of when she was young and her mother watched her come down the stairs for prom.

Laura felt a pang of sadness. She missed her mother dearly and wondered if she was looking for her out in space. Maybe they found Leo and would come for her as well. That would definitely give the locals something to talk about. "You look stunning, they won't be able to take their eyes off of you."

"Thank you Nald." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. It had been a long time since she had dressed up like this. Laura waited in the living room as Nald went and put the finishing touches on his own outfit. Looking out the window she couldn't stop the butterflies from fluttering in her tummy. The closer it got to time, the more they bothered her. Laura took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. She was going to need every bit of confidence that she had tonight.

She heard Nald come out of his room and she turned to see him. He was wearing a deep red and black robe tonight. "Who is this handsome Ape I'll be having on my arm tonight?" Laura asked with a smirk and raised an eyebrow. Nald chuckled and shook his head, "Very slick." Laura smiled at her friend.

When Laura reached for her collar, Nald stopped her. "Nald, you know I have to wear it."

"Not tonight."

Laura gave him a questioning look and Nald held up a beautiful necklace. "They need to see you as an equal if you approach them with a collar on, that is all they will see."

After he had placed it on her he gave a soft, sad smile. "Taran would have loved you, you know. You're just as head strong as she was."

"Your wife?"

He nodded and headed for the door after taking a deep breath. Laura touched the necklace and looked back over to him. He was looking at her with the door open and his arm raised. "Are you ready?"

Laura squeezed the necklace and gathered her courage. Looking back up at him she gave a sly smile and took his arm.

"Let's do this!"


	8. A Push Too Far

Laura looked up at the door that led to the party and then looked down at the ground down below her. In order to get to the party, they had to climb steps up the side of a giant tree. The party seemed to look down below over everyone. When Laura had asked Nald about it he had told her that the party was being held in the Senate chambers. Mostly because it was the biggest place to hold it in the city. As they had climbed the stairs she had watched as some of the other apes attending had simply climbed up the tree with ease. Laura never thought she would wish to be an ape.

Now, standing before the door, she felt the butterflies going crazy in her stomach. Nald seemed to take notice of her sudden nervousness and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You can do this."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Laura knew she had to keep it together. One mistake, one falter and it could all be over. There was no way she could let that happen. Steeling herself she opened her eyes and turned to give Nald a smile. "I'm ready."

Nald squeezed her shoulder and then opened the doors. The chambers were brightly lit and music played from the front of the room. There was a huge buffet of different foods, and some apes were already dancing together. Everything changed when Laura and Nald took their first steps into the chamber. One ape noticed and then alerted another and on and on until the whole hall had stopped and turned to look. Some looked disgusted, others enraged, but there were a few who looked pleased with the change.

Laura gathered all of the confidence she had and gave a bright smile. She felt Nald chuckle beside her and almost sighed in relief when the few who seemed pleased stepped forward and gathered around them. They all had so many questions, she didn't know where to start. It wasn't long before she started to feel a bit overwhelmed.

"Alright, let the woman have some breathing room!" Laura gave a big smile to Ari as her friend pushed her way through the crowd to get to Laura. Getting to her side, Ari motioned for the crowd to disperse.

"At least let us know her name!" A young chimp woman requested.

"Her name is Dahlia," Nald said with a chuckle. "I think you all will come to find it suits her perfectly."

After the crowd finally dispersed Ari wrapped Laura in a hug and then pulled away to look at her friend. "You look lovely tonight."

"You can thank Nald for that."

"I did nothing."

Ari suddenly looked back behind her and then came in closer. "The senators are grouped together over there. I should warn you, they don't look too happy."

Oh perfect, in just a matter of seconds her plans had been completely destroyed. "Well, that's gonna make things, difficult, to say the least."

Biting her lip for a moment in thought it suddenly hit her that it was now or never. They may have grouped up to try and keep her away. Well, that wasn't going to happen. Laura straightened her back and set her sights on the group. "Okay, let's do this."

Nald led her over to the group and the first thing she got was glares directed at her. This was going to be, really tense.

"Senator Nald, have you lost what little sense you had left by bringing this . . ." The Orangutang who Laura guessed was Nado, gave a disgusted look and waved his hand in her direction. "Human, to our political affairs?!"

"Senator Nado, Rem, Horus, I would like to introduce you to Dahlia. I know that while we have never had a human come to one of these events, I have also noticed that our views have been locked for a while on the human concern. I believe the reason we can't come to a reasonable agreement is that we have never heard from their side. That is why I have brought her."

"The reason we have never heard from their side is that we don't care about their side. We need to know how our decisions will affect our people, our religion, our money, and our government." Nado responded still giving Laura a hard glare. Yeah, she could tell she was not wanted he didn't have to keep up with the nasty looks.

"If you don't think that what we are doing to their kind isn't going to one day come back and bite us then you are a fool." Nald quickly retorted.

"Senator Nald, I really don't see how they can do anything to us. They are weaker, dumber, and don't have our technology. I really don't see how they threaten us in any way." The senator known as Rem spoke up.

"If that's what you really think senator, then our people are already dead."

Laura turned to see not only general Thade but also Ari's father, senator Sandar. Oh, this is just perfect. "Senator," Laura greeted them both with a nod and slight bow. "General, I didn't realize you had such little faith in your own people."

Thade snarled at her but she merely smiled back. "Why do I have a feeling you two have met before," Sandar said looking between the two.

"You could say we know each other 'quite well'," Laura replied with a smug grin.

The senators all stared at the General with not just shocked expressions but also looks of disgust. The look Thade had on his face was pure shock and rage and he had it directed right at Laura. If she really wanted to send everyone over the edge she would have winked at him, but she wasn't that cruel.

Thankfully, Nald came in for the save. "What she means is that the general was kind enough to find Dahlia when I lost her and returned her back to me. While he may have only done so to get on my good side again, I'm still in his debt." While Laura was grateful for it she was also a bit sad, she was enjoying watching the general squirm.

Senator Nado and Horus quickly regained their composure while Sandar and Rem merely sighed in relief. At that point, Laura thought it was a good idea to turn the conversation back towards the problem at hand. "Senator Horus, I've been told you don't care for my kind because we don't have any art or culture."

"That is correct, your kind comes to us covered in dirt, some can barely even speak a word," Horus suddenly narrowed his eyes at her. "You are the first I have met who can speak as eloquently as us."

"You will come to find senator, that I have many talents," Laura replied with a charming smile.

"Can you prove that human, or are you only speaking nonsense?" Senator Sandar asked eyeing her carefully. This was the moment she had been waiting for.

"It just so happens senators, that I know how to dance just as well, if not better, then some of your own." While there was a moment of silence, the senators soon burst out into laughter. They took it as one big joke, but Thade's expression seemed to turn into dark contemplation. Laura just raised her eyebrow at the senators. When they noticed her expression, the laughter slowly died.

"You can't be serious," Horus said still chuckling a little. "That's impossible."

"I assure you, senator, I am quite serious."

They all looked towards Nald to see if what Laura was saying was true. Nald could only shrug. "I have never seen her dance, perhaps we should let her."

"Yes, let the human give it a go, at the very least she will provide some entertainment!" Senator Nado said feeling quite amused.

At that point, Ari decided to show up beside her father and crossed her arms. "Surely you will give her a dance partner, you wouldn't just make her go and dance by herself."

Sandar slowly shook his head before looking over at his willful daughter. "I should have known you would have had something to do with this."

Ari gave her father a smile and then motioned at the senators. "Well?"

Nado let out a bellowing laugh, "And just who would be willing to dance with this creature?!"

"I will dance with the young human."

Turning towards the sound of the voice, Laura saw an orangutang dressed in red and gold robes. She had never seen him before, why would he be willing to take a chance on her? All the senators looked completely baffled and in awe. "High priest Marcus, you can't be serious, how will this make you look to the others?" Rem asked looking around at the many eyes focused on them now.

High Priest?! Laura admitted she was surprised. She hadn't heard anything about their religion, she didn't even know they had one. Now she found herself curious.

"Either she can dance, or she cannot and all she does is make herself look like a fool," Marcus said moving forward towards Laura. "But somehow, I have a feeling she will surprise us all."

The ape held out his hand to her and motioned for her to take it. The senators, Ari, and the general could only watch as Laura took his hand and he led her towards the dance floor. The many eyes that had been watching broke out into whispers and hushed curses. When they took their place the other couples who had been dancing stopped and moved away to watch. Marcus placed his hands on Laura to begin the dance and right away Laura knew what to do.

The musicians looked a bit confused until Marcus nodded to them to begin again. That was all they needed as they started to play. The dance started off slow with a few turns and twirls. But each move he made she matched perfectly. Sure, Laura liked to dance for fun but she also knew how to get serious about it. She was more surprised at how well the high priest was doing and wondered who had taught him.

As the music started to swell she knew what was coming. In a moment she would be twirled out and the move was meant for her to make eye contact with someone and hold it till her partner claimed her again. In the back of her mind, she really wanted it to be Thade. If he thought he was uncomfortable before this would really do the trick. Unfortunately, the senators might read it wrong and think something was up between them. They didn't need to know about their little game. So instead she focused herself on her next big target.

When the move came and she twirled out she came face to face with senator Horus, who she gave a sly smile and a wink. He looked completely shocked but also impressed, which only made her feel like she was actually pulling this off. When the high priest claimed her again and they continued to dance she felt eyes boring into her from all over the place. She didn't even want to know what some of them were thinking.

When the dance came to an end Laura didn't know what to expect. But when Ari started to clap and then senator Horus, the rest of the room followed suit. Marcus gave her a smile, "I knew you would surprise them."

He led Laura back over to the senators and Ari hugged her hard. So hard Laura was actually having to fight to breathe. "You were so good out there!"

"Ari release her before she loses consciousness," Sandar said with a soft sigh. His daughter quickly lets go of Laura but kept the large smile on her face.

"I admit, I am very much impressed," Senator Horus gave a slight bow. "You proved me very wrong in the end."

"Who taught you how to do that?" Nado seemed highly suspicious and looked between Laura and Nald.

"My aunt did, she always had a passion for dancing and so did I," Laura replied with a smug grin. It was then that she noticed that the general was gone, but something told her he didn't get very far.

"Nald might we speak to you in private," Sandar asked as he moved away from the group. The other Senators followed suit and went into another room. Nald looked down at her and then nodded in a way that meant she should go and have fun. Ari had already turned back towards the food, but Laura really needed some air.

She headed out towards the balcony and took a deep breath and finally felt a bit relaxed. At least she had managed to get to one senator, Nado didn't seem to be changing his mind anytime soon. She couldn't read Sandar very well, but she felt confident since Ari was his daughter. Rem would be the easiest, she just needed to get more people on her side for him to follow suit.

Suddenly she smiled and looked towards the shadows. "You just gonna keep watching me or are you gonna speak up?"

Thade stepped a bit out and let out an aggravated huff. "Do you have any idea what you've started? They are going to start thinking that humans might actually be worth something."

"You mean they might actually start treating humans like people instead of animals?!" She let out a mocking laugh and placed her head in her hand. "Oh, the tragedy."

"This is going to get my people killed and you will be the one with blood on your hands."

"You know Thade, your problem is that you're scared of us!" Laura snapped losing her humor quickly.

"What?" He snarled and tightened his hands into fists.

Laura smiled and took a step towards him. "You're scared that if I'm as smart as I am, that might mean that there are others like me. Maybe they are out there building an army and planning to come and take over the city," As she spoke she kept coming towards him. "Sure the other humans wouldn't be able to do it, but with me or someone as smart as me leading them, they could actually be a force to reckon with-"

She was grabbed so fast she didn't see it coming and was thrown up against the tree with a hand wrapped tightly around her neck. Finding that she could barely breathe she noticed eyes of pure fury staring straight at her. "Is that a threat human?" He spoke through gritted teeth. Laura tried to push him off but he just grabbed both of her wrists in one hand and pulled them up over her head.

"You know, after that performance of yours. That target I told you about has been firmly placed on you. Now if you died, I wouldn't be the first suspect anymore. It could be anyone." He underlined his words by squeezing her throat until she let out a cough.

All the color drained from her face and she realized he was right. The only thing that really kept him at bay was the fact that he would be the only one it could have been. Now though, it could be any of the pissed off apes in the other room. Fuck! The only protection she might have had just crumbled right in front of her, and now she was left with only one choice.

"Thade," She could barely speak but it still managed to come out. He had noticed how pale she had changed and he knew she had realized the truth of the situation. He copied her mock laugh and released her throat enough for her speak but still held a firm grasp.

Laura breathed in quickly and then looked straight at him, only to notice his attention was now elsewhere. He seemed focused on feeling her pulse just like before. "You want to kill me but you can't."

Thade snapped his attention back to her and squeezed even tighter. "You really think that?"

"Twice now, you have had the chance but even the first time you hesitated, just like now. I know why that is, and so do you." Laura knew what she was doing wasn't just a risk, but it was also possible that it would throw Thade right over the edge. She didn't want too, but he wasn't giving her much of a choice. "Even if you can't admit it to yourself."

His grip seemed to loosen as his body went rigid. Everything she had done had been leading to this moment, but she hadn't intended to do it. "You watch me, more than anyone else. I bet you even seek me out sometimes. Warning me of a danger that you could of easily just taken advantage of from the start. You find me infuriating and yet I'm always there in the back of your mind like a scratch you can't reach."

At this point, he was just listening and his grip had completely failed him. His eyes had averted from her and she knew that she had him. Now it just came down to the killing blow. Leaning into him she felt him shudder, with a smile she whispered in his ear. "I can give you what you want."

That seemed to get his attention as his eyes came back up to hers. Whatever he was feeling he was keeping it hidden very well. Laura moved closer until their foreheads could have touched. This was it.

"Kiss me."

At first, she got exactly what she was expecting, confusion and then when the realization hit it turned into anger. But then everything changed when she spoke again while looking right into his eyes.

"You know you want too."

What she hadn't expected was for just a split second his eyes had moved down to her lips and then complete and utter shame washed over him. It was practically radiating off him. Laura nearly lost all the breath in her lungs. When he looked back up at her and noticed her shock the anger returned with a passion and he snapped himself away from her and over the balcony. When he was gone Laura fell to her knees and took in as much air as she could. Her whole body was shaking and she wrapped her arms around herself to try and calm down.

That wasn't supposed to happen! She was building up to him being completely uncomfortable with her to the point of leaving her alone. She had only ever meant to make him uncomfortable and making him sweat a little. This was nothing like what she had imagined. Laura looked back up towards the balcony and then felt a slight ping of guilt. What had she done?

Ari showed up on the balcony and noticed Laura kneeled down in the shadows and rushed over to her. "Dahlia, what happened? Are you okay?"

Laura didn't know how to feel. The way Ari had spoken of him she didn't think it would be even slightly possible. Laura looked up at her friend with a nervous smile.

"Say something, what happened?"

How could she tell Ari? She would think she was crazy from the start. Laura looked at her friend and then back out into the night and the words flowed from her mouth.

"He, he actually thought about it."

* * *

Thade slammed the doors of the training area for his soldiers opened and let out a screech so loud that everyone training rushed out and left him to himself. He stalked over the weapons rack and picked up a spear. _**You know what it is.**_ He could still hear her in his ear and threw the spear as hard as he could at a training dummy. It struck it right in the head.

He shook his head and went for the next weapon. _**Just admit it to yourself.**_ Thade threw the spear and it landed right next to the one before. He was furious inside. How had it come to this point? That human was so infuriating and thought she knew everything. He wanted to rip her throat out, let's see her speak without a tongue!

 _ **Tell me Thade, is it true that you watch me?**_ He placed his head in his hands and tried to shake her words out of his brain. Turning towards the weapons again he placed his hands on the wood and held on. He just needed to clear his head, just close his eyes and clear her damn voice out of him. The minute he closed his eyes though, it all flashed behind his lids.

When they first met and the senator bought her. The smirk she had given him. It was like she was born just to cause him trouble. Then it changed to the encounter at the market. The smartass comments she made and how when he tried to scare her she only stood her ground. The first time she had touched him and he had followed her motion. The first time a human had dared to try something like that. Then Ari's, he hadn't meant to run into her there, but he shouldn't have been surprised. Ari always had a thing about humans. Even after the market incident she still gave him attitude. She had been lucky Ari was there, or he would have ended it there. But now he was even doubting that. Because when the alley flashed through his mind he had her. He could have killed her, but he got stuck enjoying her fear. It gave her a chance to speak. Why she helped him confounded him. She hadn't asked for anything in return. When he warned her, he didn't even know why he had. It didn't change her stubborn mind. She was going to get herself killed and that bothered him. He was the only one who was allowed to kill her. The look on her face when he had made that comment. How red it went. When he realized what he did he felt like a fool. What was she doing to him?!

Then came what happened not but a few minutes earlier. When he had seen her, she hadn't looked like any human he had ever seen before. Confidence seemed to radiate off her and the red dress fit her perfectly. He couldn't believe that she had danced just as gracefully as any of the other apes. When she had twirled over and winked at the senator, for just a brief moment he thought about breaking Horus's neck. When he realized it, he distanced himself from the group, but of course, she found him.

He could still feel her warm skin underneath his hand when he grabbed her throat. The way her pulse had raced and her face had lost all color. Then just like before, he had hesitated just like she had said. When she leaned into him and he caught the scent of lavender. Thade was gripping the wood of the weapons case so hard the wood creaked in protest. _**Thade.**_ No, no, no, no.

 _ **Kiss me.**_

His eyes snapped open and with one swift motion he flipped the case over with a screech so loud he wouldn't have been surprised if the whole city heard him. Breathing heavily, he realized he wasn't hearing her anymore. Was it over? Had she decided to stop torturing him?

 _ **I know you want too.**_

With a screech that rivaled the others in strength, he launched himself at the training dummy.

* * *

Author's Note: Hello again everyone. I wanted to thank everyone for the reviews! I know this chapter took a while, but it really took a lot of thought for me. I hope you enjoy it.


	9. Letting It Out

The next morning Laura was cleaning up her breakfast dishes and reflecting on last nights events. Nald had been the happiest she had ever seen him. He said that Horus wanted to reopen some of the talks about the humans. Although Nald didn't really go into details, she was just happy she had been able to help. As for Ari, Laura had managed to get away without telling her too much, if anything. Of course, her friend had been very suspicious but Laura hadn't been able to form the words for her.

Every time she thought about it she felt a pang of guilt. There was a lot of things she had wanted Thade to feel, but last night had completely shocked her. She just needed to keep her mind off of it. Luckily after the mess on the balcony, she had run into Marcus again. He seemed like a nice ape, but she would need more time to judge that. Marcus had invited her to the temple, he had said something about needing to talk to her. Laura had agreed happily and was looking forward to it today.

A bang on the door seemed to knock Laura out of her thoughts. She quickly wiped her hands off and went over to open it, and it was the last person she expected to see. "Attar, what are you doing here?"

He was looking down at her with dark piercing eyes and it was making her a little uncomfortable. "I need you to see something." He said through clenched teeth. Whatever it was he sure wasn't happy about it. She knew it had something to do with Thade; there was no other reason Attar would come to her.

Without a second thought, she walked out and closed the door behind her. Attar seemed to relax a little when she didn't put up a fight about it. As Laura followed him through the city Attar didn't say a word to her. Whatever had happened, he seemed to be really worried about it. That made her start to worry as well so she picked up the pace.

When they got to a door hidden by some vines she looked up at Attar with confusion. He opened it without a word and it led through the wall to another pair of doors. When they stood in front of it Attar stopped her from continuing.

"What did you do?"

Laura almost felt her heart sink into her stomach, she knew this wasn't going to be good. "Attar, where are we?"

He pointed at the door, "This **was** the door to the training area for our soldiers."

"What do you mean was?"

"Answer my question first, what did you do?" He seemed to lean down closer to her face and she felt a little intimidated.

Laura took a deep breath and made it seem like it took her a minute to remember. "Well, I went to the party with my master, I talked to the senators, I danced with High Priest Marcus-"

Attar seemed shocked by this and held up his hand to stop her, "You danced with the High Priest?!"

Laura shrugged, "He volunteered, I was just as confused as you."

Getting past the shock Attar motioned for her to continue, "Senator Horus seemed pleased. I saw Ari, and met Senator Sandar-"

"Did you speak to General Thade?" Attar asked getting straight to the point.

Laura felt like lying would be pointless, Attar already knew the answer to the question. Still, she tried to play it off like it was nothing, "We had a conversation, why?"

Without another word, Attar approached the double doors and threw them open like they weighed nothing. What Laura saw made her lose her breath.

The area was completely destroyed. Everything was thrown all over the place. The practice dummies had been torn to pieces, ropes and weapons were scattered and the floor was covered with broken wood. Laura slowly turned back towards Attar with a somber expression, "Where is he now?"

She was surprised at how unfazed Attar was at her question, "He is home."

Looking back at the destruction Laura took it all in and then slowly shook her head. She hadn't wanted to cause this. As Laura went to walk out of the room, Attar grabbed her arm, "What did you do?"

With a heavy sigh, she turned back towards him and replied, "I'll stay away from him Attar, but I can't tell you anything. It's not my place. If he wants to tell you, he can."

Attar didn't seem pleased with the entire answer but he still released her and let her walk away. Well, now there was no way she was going to be able to take her mind off of what happened last night now. She needed to talk to someone before she exploded. The only person she could think of was Ari. Actually, it was time to tell her everything.

Getting to Ari's didn't take too long, but it took Laura a minute to build up her courage to knock on the door. She expected Ari or one of her human servants to answer the door, but instead, it was an older male gorilla. With a raised brow Laura asked, "Is Ari here?"

"Who's asking human?"

This bitch did not just sass her. She was having a shit day and this ape was really going to pull this human shit with her. "I'm her friend Dahlia, are you going to let me in?"

The ape didn't seem to like her attitude either and sneered at her and gave a gruff huff. Laura had to gather all of her self-control and calmed herself down before she really let this ape have it. "Look, I really need to talk to her, it's important."

He looked her over with a critical eye before slowly opening the door, "She's in her room. Cause her any trouble and I will throw you out myself."

While Laura didn't like his attitude, she did appreciate how protective he seemed to her friend.

He led her to Ari's door and knocked. Ari's voice rang out and the ape announced Laura's presence. The door swung open so fast Laura actually had to step back in surprise. The male ape didn't seem fazed at all. "Dahlia! Please come in," She said with a smile before turning back to the male. "Thank you, Krull."

After Krull left and both Laura and Ari got comfortable Laura smiled at her friend. "Well, Krull has a lovely personality."

Ari smiled sweetly, "Don't be too hard on him, he's had a hard past. My father took him in, he's a good male."

Well, once again Laura felt like an ass. How was she even supposed to start this whole conversation? Ari seemed to notice how nervous Laura was and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You can tell me anything Dahlia,"

With that show of support, the words just came flooding out. Everything from the beginning to last night. How she got here, the people she had met, how she had been looking for Leo, to the fruit stand incident, when Thade had almost killed her, all the way up to what happened last night. Ari seemed shocked and was trying to process all the information that was hitting her all at once.

After a few minutes, Ari let out a deep sigh and looked up at Laura with comforting eyes. "I knew something was different about you, not that you fell from the sky, but I knew it was something."

Laura almost teared up at how much relief she felt that Ari believed her. "Please, don't let anyone know."

"Of course not, do you really think they would believe me anyway Laura? Does Nald know?"

"No, I don't want to compromise everything he's worked for by knowing the truth."

Ari nodded and leaned back in her chair. "As for last night, I knew something was up even before the balcony incident."

Laura looked at her with confusion and Ari smiled, "I was watching Thade last night. When Marcus took your hand and led you to the dance floor, his eyes narrowed and at first, I just thought it was because he didn't think you should have the right."

"What changed your mind?"

"When you spun and stood facing Senator Horus, I heard Thade growl. When I turned to look, I noticed he was eyeing the Senator, not you. He almost made a show of dominance, for you. That's not the Thade I know. He even surprised himself, he left quickly so he wouldn't do anything."

Laura was shocked, and without meaning to, she felt her cheeks get warm. Oh, she was not blushing right now. Nope, not her. Laura tried to shake it off and placed her head in her hands. "Oh Ari, what have I done?"

"Thade is probably wondering the same thing. You need to know Laura, this is very dangerous. There are laws, if anyone found out-"

"Whoa! Let's back up, nothing has happened between Thade and me. And Ari, my friend, I'm gonna keep it that way."

"Just be careful alright?"

"Don't worry Ari, I'm the very soul of caution," Laura said with a beaming smile. Ari rolled her eyes at her and sighed.

"You are both doomed."

After leaving Ari's, Laura felt a lot better about everything. She just knew she could trust Ari and that made a huge weight lift from her shoulders. Laura followed the path she was on until she appeared in front of the temple. A few apes were milling around but they weren't going inside. As she wondered why she felt a presence beside her. Looking over she smiled at Marcus.

"Why is no one going in?"

"I told them I needed to clean the inside and that I was having a meeting with someone." He replied looking down at her with a soft smile.

He motioned for her to step inside and followed behind her. The inside was very cozy looking. It was lit with candles and at the front of the room was an altar with the statue of an ape on it. Looking around at the top she noticed tapestries hanging from the ceiling all in warm colors. For some reason, she actually felt kind of safe there.

"Who is that?" Laura asked pointing at the statue. Marcus walked over to the statue and stood beside it.

"This is Semos, the first Ape."

So he was like, their god? Before Laura could ask any more Marcus motioned for her to sit. She did so and he sat beside her.

"I know that you are trying to change things for your people Dahlia. You should know it is a very dangerous game you play. You could be killed, or worse." Marcus said staring into her eyes.

"Marcus, if someone doesn't do something, things could get even worse. I don't want to see my people be wiped out just because Apes have misconceptions about them. I want to help, and I believe that I can."

"You are brave, I will give you that, but there are players in this that could break everything that you are. Are you sure that you want to keep on this path that you are on?"

Without hesitation, Laura nodded her head, "Absolutely."

Marcus let out a soft chuckle and smiled at her. "I had a feeling that you would say that," He stood then and looked down at her. "Then I will help you."

Laura rose quickly, "Marcus, you don't have to do that. This isn't safe and I and Senator Nald are already in harm's way. You don't need to endanger yourself as well."

"I know things need to change Dahlia, and I want to be part of that change. I feel like I need to be."

Laura knew what he meant and she gave a slight nod. "I won't turn away your help. I would greatly appreciate it."

After a few more words with Marcus, she was heading out when she almost ran right into another ape. He was old and was wearing colorless robes. Laura bowed her head. "Please excuse me."

The ape sneered at her and gave growl of warning. Even though this wasn't the first time it had happened, this one seemed to make her shudder and placed a sense of fear in her. She quickly moved around him and out of the temple.

The old Ape turned towards Marcus after the human had left. The look of distaste was still there as he smelled the room. "It smells like that human, you need to fix that quickly."

The look of kindness on Marcu's face turned to one of pure cold. "I didn't even want to bring that filth in here. It feels like her mere presence has desecrated this temple."

"Says the one who danced with it, in public even." The older ape spat.

"I needed her trust, which I have now. If anything was to happen to her, I would in no way be implicated."

"Do it soon, I want her gone! I don't know what she has done to my son, but he visited me this morning and I could just feel that something was wrong. I know she has been hounding him, once she is dispatched, everything will be back to normal. The Senate will make the right decision and eradicate the humans."

"Semos will guide us, Zaius."

The older ape walked towards the statue and ran his finger over it. "Yes, he will."


	10. New Friends, Fresh Pain

The week went by relatively quickly, and in the time Laura was glad to see some change had taken place in the city. Thanks to the help of Marcus they had been able to pass a new law that apes were prohibited from abusing their humans, at least in public. It wasn't much and she was actually hoping for more, but she was lucky it got passed at all. Marcus wasn't the only one helping though, when Nald had gotten back he was very happy to announce that Senator Horus had also voted for it. The ball had actually made a difference in the end.

Speaking of the ball, after a few days she got tired of hiding all the time and decided to just live. If Thade saw her he would just have to live with it. After coming to that conclusion she had gone to visit Marcus and saw Thade on his horse with Attar at his side. You know, speaking of the devil and all that. Laura tried not to stare and was of course not able to stop. She did curse herself under her breath. His eyes found hers rather quickly, then again he probably felt her staring. His expression didn't change and after a minute he turned his horse around and rode away. Was he ignoring her now? Well, it was better then the other option she figured.

Talking to Marcus always made her feel calm. He was always kind and took the time to answer the questions that plagued her mind. When she started asking about Semos he was surprised at first. He didn't think that she would care much about their religion. Truth was, Laura was quite curious about the whole thing. If she was gonna want to find some kind of peace between her people and the apes she needed to learn more about them. Marcus seemed happy to teach her. Even though most of what he told her seemed very anti-human, he assured her that he wanted nothing more than to change things.

Whether she really believed him would have to come in time, but he did seem like he wanted to help her. Why else would he risk his own neck for her cause?

Today she was headed to Ari's as she had said that she wanted to introduce Laura to some friends of hers. The walk to her place had been quiet, no one had bothered her. When she reached the door and knocked though, there was no answer. Well, that just wasn't right. Usually, Krull would have answered her with his sunny disposition and grumbling nature. When Laura turned the knob she realized it wasn't locked. She contemplated if she should just walk in or knock again. She knew Ari wouldn't mind but something seemed off about this.

Laura pushed the door open and saw an empty room, she could hear voices though. She decided to take it slowly and crept into the next room. She was not prepared for what she saw. Thade had Ari up against the wall and was saying something she couldn't quite make out, but she could see the uncomfortable look on Ari's face. Laura felt anger bloom in her chest and she leaned against the door frame.

"You have a reason to be that close to her, or are you just being a creep?" Laura called out. She made sure her words sounded harsh. His head snapped towards her and she gave a mocking smile and a little wave. Ari seemed to let out a breath of relief at Laura's presence and she took the opportunity to move away from the General.

He looked like he was going to snap at Laura but she narrowed her eyes and glared at him. Thade clenched his jaw and headed towards her. Laura braced her body for what might come but he only walked right past her and out the door.

"Well now that he's gone, what the fuck was that all about Ari?!" Laura rushed over to her friend and started to look her over. She didn't seem hurt but Laura couldn't help feeling protective over Ari.

"I'm fine Laura, he just surprised me."

"What was that all about though?"

Ari let out a deep sigh and placed her hand on her forehead, "The same thing it always is, it's nothing but a power play. He thinks if he gets close to me, he will gain my fathers influence. Thade doesn't take no very well."

Laura felt the anger building up again, "What do you mean the same thing? How long has he been bothering you, Ari?" She feared she already knew the answer.

"Since a couple of days after the ball. I didn't want to worry you with it, it's just his newest ploy."

Guilt seemed to cover every part of Laura as she took in her friend's words. She couldn't help but feel like this was somehow her fault. Why would he target Ari like this? Was it because she was friends with her, or maybe she was over thinking it. It would make sense for this to be his plan after everything that had happened. Getting her father on his side would be a huge blow to what Laura and Nald had been able to achieve.

"Anyway, forget all this nonsense. My guests should be here soon. Why don't we have some tea and sit down." Ari said, her normal smile had returned and it made Laura feel a little better.

Turns out they didn't have to wait long before a female ape and her human arrived. Ari hugged them both and motioned for them to join them at the table. The female ape was wearing colorful robes and a kind smile. The human male was dressed in servant clothes and a light blue collar was around his neck.

The female held out her hand to Laura and she gladly shook it as well as the humans. Once everyone was sat down Ari made the introductions. "Laura this is Toran, and her human's name is David. David, Toran this is Laura, she's the one who made quite the scene at the ball, and the one who helped pass the new law."

"I have been wanting to meet you ever sense Ari told us about you. It's a great pleasure." Toran held out her hand and Laura took it again, but this time Toran held on to it. "You have no idea how important what you've done is to us."

When she released Laura's hand she watched as David took Toran's hand in his and gave her a sweet smile. That seemed a little strange. Toran's slave seemed to be a little too familiar with her. Laura looked over at Ari, who was only smiling at the two of them. "I'm glad that I could help make some kind of difference."

"You have no idea, we never thought anything would ever change. But seeing just this small step has given us both hope for the future." David replied as he looked into Toran's eyes and then turned to face Laura.

Are they . . . No, there's no way. "I don't mean to overstep my bounds or even ask a really stupid question but, are you two, together?"

Toran and David looked at each other and then over to Ari, "You didn't tell her did you?" Toran asked with a raised brow.

Ari acted like she was looking at something completely different and like she hadn't heard a word she had said to her.

"Of course you didn't," Toran replied to her own question with a deep sigh.

David wrapped his arm around Toran and looked Laura right in the eyes, "Yes, I and Toran are lovers."

Everything went dead quiet, and Laura had a blank look on her face. She just couldn't really process this information. This wasn't something she thought she would come across here. She remembered Ari telling her that there were laws against it. Weren't they scared of being caught?

"I have a few questions if that's okay."

"Of course, we figured you might," David replied.

Laura took a deep breath, "Aren't you both terrified of getting caught, I mean, Ari told me there are laws against this kind of relationship."

Toran gripped onto David's arm and David leaned over and kissed her forehead before replying, "Yes there are laws and we are scared every day that we might be caught. We tried not being together and it was hell. We can't help feeling this way about each other. As for what could happen if we got caught, they would kill me, in front of Toran. Then they would take her and try to rehabilitate her. It could render her insane."

"That sounds terrible, I'm sorry I asked such a question. You must worry about it all the time."

"We do, but I love her and she loves me, we will take what time we have together."

Laura couldn't help feeling sorry for them, that kind of danger must plague them all the time. They must always have to be careful when they are together. Who knew who could catch them at any time.

"How did you get past the fact that you are both, well, different?" Suddenly Laura realized how personal that question might be and her face went a slight red color. "You don't have to answer that!"

"No really, it's no problem, It's something we wondered as well at first." Toran said finally speaking up, "We knew that there was something between us but we didn't act on it because of how most other apes view it and because we weren't sure if it was going to work at all. So we took things slow, and in time, the differences didn't even seem to register. To my kind its beastiality, but for us, that term didn't make sense. David can think and feel just the same as me, we had a lot in common and he was always kind and looked after me. The truth is we are equal, there shouldn't be any slaves, and our relationship shouldn't result in his death!"

Toran was letting her emotions get the best of her. David took it in stride and wrapped his arms around her in a gentle embrace. She calmed down quickly and laid her head on his shoulder. "If they came for you, I would rip them apart."

A warm smile lit up Laura's face. Their relationship was adorable. They really cared about each other. The fact they could be torn apart so easily, it made Laura worry for them. She barely knew them, but seeing them together like this, it made her want to find a way to protect them.

It made her stop and think about her situation. The only ape she felt any real emotion for was Thade and it was mostly confusing with a side of hate and prodding. She felt a deep friendship with Ari, and as for Nald, he saved her. He kept her safe and made sure nothing bad happened to her. Marcus was new for her. He made a powerful ally, but as a friend, she wasn't sure yet.

"Tell her how it all started!" Ari said with her head placed in her hands.

"Ari loves this part," David replied as kept his arms around Toran. "I was given to Toran as a gift. At first, she wasn't sure how to order me, she had never had a slave before. I thought she was gonna be a harsh mistress. The other slaves filled my head with horror stories. But after a while, I realized that she just wanted someone to spend time with. I would go with her to the market, help with dinner and even attend parties with her. I always made sure she had everything that she needed. Then I got sick."

Toran pulled away, but kept her hand in his, "Everyone kept telling me to 'put him down'. I refused. I made the doctors do everything they could. I stayed by his side the entire time. His fever was so high and no one could tell me what was wrong. Finally, the doctors told me there was nothing else they could do anymore. I cried on his bed and just held his hand all night." David squeezed her hand.

"The next morning I opened my eyes to see her sitting beside me and holding my hand. At first, I thought she was an angel, the way she had cared for me that whole time. I don't know what came over me but with what little strength I had, I lifted my hand to her face and said she was beautiful. That's how it all began." David said, finishing the story.

It was absolutely beautiful and it really made Laura rethink everything. Maybe there was some way she could help them. It was a conversation she would have to have with Nald, maybe he had his own opinions about this kind of relationship.

"Laura has her own crush ya know-"

"Ari if you finish that sentence I will destroy you!" Laura said cutting her friend off.

Toran and David looked at each other and then back to Laura with nosey looks. "He is not a crush, we can't stand each other. Anytime we are even in the same vicinity all we do is argue. There are no feelings there." A flash of what happened at the ball flew through her mind. "At least, I don't think so."

Toran placed her hand over Laura's on the table. "Maybe you should try having a conversation with him, something small that you could both agree on, it could build a starting foundation."

Laura wondered if it would even be possible. The real question though was if she ever really wanted to build that bridge. It could help her cause a little, but she got a nagging feeling that it was about more than that. She decided to put it in the back of her mind for now because she had plans for Thade tonight. Laura hadn't liked that he had involved Ari in his sick power play.

After visiting for a few hours Laura decided to head out. David and Toran were lovely people, and she wanted to find a way to help them. Maybe she would invite them over to meet Nald after Laura talked to him of course. She needed to know what he thought about such relationships before just telling him about them.

As it turned out finding the General when she actually needed him was a lot harder than just running into him. Laura finally just threw up her hands and gave up finding him on her own and went and asked one of the guards. He seemed suspicious of her until she said her master had news for Thade. When he told her that he was at his home she felt a small rock form in her throat. She had never been to his actually living space. It felt a bit too personal, but then again, he shouldn't have been harassing her best, and only real friend.

The guard was nice enough to show her where it was before scuffling away quickly. Laura looked up at the house, it wasn't as grand as Nalds, but Laura couldn't really see Thade with a grand house. His tastes seemed to be a bit simpler. It was a round house like Nald's but not as big and the wood was much darker. The windows were shuttered but she could see light peaking through them. So he was home alright. Laura swallowed hard before taking a step towards the door. She knocked on the door with confidence and tried to steady her rising pulse.

It wasn't long before the door opened. Thade stood there looking shocked that she was standing at his door. He was probably trying to figure out what kind of nerve she had. "What are you doing here?" He asked through clenched teeth.

Yeah, he wasn't happy, she figured as much. But she had already decided she was gonna keep calm. Maybe if she acted decently, he would as well. So she took a deep breath and replied, "I want to talk to you about Ari."

He glared at her and snorted, "This has nothing to do with you human, run home." Thade started to close the door and the rage that had been brewing deep down just burst out from Laura. She stopped the door with her foot and pushed it open forcing herself inside. Laura must have surprised Thade cause the door had moved easily.

"You know I wanted to do this without us fighting for once, but of course you just have to force a confrontation. It's like in your blood to want to argue with me. Well screw being nice then, leave Ari alone! I don't care why you decided to target her, but it stops. She is my only friend here and I'm not going to let you run all over her just so you can get your way! Ari isn't a toy and-"

That's when she was grabbed roughly by the throat and was pulled so close to him that their noses were almost touching. Her words seemed to evaporate just like that, and her heart was pounding like crazy.

"Listen to me you pathetic worm," His eyes had gone dark and his tone was savage in nature. "You come bursting into my home and start giving me orders. Your kind is nothing but a pestilence that I will crush the minute the Senate gives me the word. You are less than the lowest form of waste cursing this place and I will stomp you out." He stopped and tilted his head at her, "I've always wondered where you came from, why you always seemed alone. Most humans have already found others from their disgusting clans by now. But you, haven't found anyone." Pulling her closer he started to whisper in her ear, "Their dead aren't they, all of them."

Laura's eyes went wide and tears started to cloud her vision. He was talking about Leo, and her mother, everyone on the Oberon. She had tried so hard to convince herself that Leo was alive, out there somewhere. That they would find each other and she would make it back home to her mother. She had to be worried sick about her, gone all this time. Was she even still looking for her, or had they given up her and Leo for dead?

"Oh, I struck a nerve didn't I?" Thade seemed so proud of himself, it made Laura feel sick, "You're the only one left and if you don't fall in line you will die. It doesn't even have to be me who does it, but whoever gets the right is going to be one lucky ape." He released her and it took all her strength not to fall to the floor. Sorrow filled her completely and she could feel herself shaking. Thade went and stood next to his open door, "Now get out of my house, and if you come back, I will tear you into so many pieces your master won't even be able to recognize you!"

Fuck walking out she ran. She wanted to get as far away from him as possible. Screw everything Toran had said, there was no way for them to get along. Tears slid down her cheeks as she kept running towards her only safety. Maybe if she hadn't been running as blindly as she had been she wouldn't have gotten caught, but as she ran past an alleyway in the marketplace arms wrapped around her mouth and throat and pulled her into it.

Laura was thrown against the rock and pinned down. Looking through her tears she saw three apes stood before her in armor. She didn't recognize them, but they were glaring right at her.

"Is she the one?" One of them asked looking her over, it was really making Laura uncomfortable.

"Yes, I saw her leaving the General's house, makes you wonder what he said to cause such pain." The other said with a sickening grin as he pulled a strand of her hair away from her face. Laura flinched away from his hand and he chuckled.

The third gripped her face in his hand roughly causing Laura to squeak in protest. "Well, let's begin."

Laura didn't know what he meant, he released her face gently and moved away. The second one who had grinned at her before raised his hand and the blow he struck made Laura see stars. She fell to her knees and cried out in pain. What was happening?! The first kicked her hard in the stomach and she fell to her side. Shit, was she tasting blood now?! Why were they doing this?! The second roughly grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back up to face them and backhanded her again. Her lip split and she yelped from the pain. It continued like that for what felt like forever. Blow after blow from the two, until she could barely feel anything. Tears were streaming down her face and mixed with the blood from her mouth.

She was sure they had broken or fractured some of her ribs. Bruises must have covered her body and she was sure one of her ankles were broken. Finally the third came forward holding a dagger. Laura felt fear spread through her whole body. She could barely move as he grabbed her by the hair again and placed the dagger at her throat. Laura had to think quick if she was gonna save her own life. Looking around she saw a hole in the wall, it wasn't huge but it looked big enough for her to slip through and escape them. Now how to get their attention for a minute?

As the dagger touched her throat she cried out, "Okay! Okay, I'll tell you whats been going on with me and Thade!" This seemed to peak their interest as the dagger went lax.

"Look, she even calls him by his name, that is rare. The info we were given must be true." The second said crossing his arms and looking to the first.

"Maybe if we get more answers out of her, we can get more then just a rise in rank out of this." The first chimed in with a smirk.

The third seemed to think about it before releasing Laura's hair, "Fine, you tell us and I'll make your death much faster then we had planned, but you have to give us all the details."

Laura clenched her jaw and pulled herself up just enough to prop herself up on her elbows. She was gonna have to make this very convincing if she wanted to get them close enough for this. Taking a deep breath she looked away from them shyly, "Well, we both didn't want this to get out, who knows what could happen."

"I knew it was gonna be something like this," The second said smirking and leaning in closer. "Tell us everything, every gory detail."

"It wasn't meant to happen, we just couldn't stop ourselves," Laura added a slight blush covering her cheeks. The first and third leaned in as well and Laura had found her opening. She lifted her leg that wasn't completely useless and kicked the third as hard as she could into the other two. Turning quickly she dove into the hole and crawled as deep into it as she could.

Laura heard scuffling as they got back up and ran over to the hole. "This little bitch! Drag her out so I can finish her off," She heard the third call out to the others.

The first and second both tried to reach in but they weren't able to reach her, which made Laura breathe a sigh of relief. The third suddenly came forward and drove the dagger into the hole and she felt a sharp pain as the dagger went into her side. The cry she let out was loud enough to call attention it seemed as a guard came to the entrance of the alleyway. "What's going on in there?!"

The third quickly moved away and hid the dagger, "Nothing, we were just having a good time together before inspection tomorrow, you know how it can get." He sounded so much calmer and way different then he had before.

The guard seemed to relax from the tone of his voice and Laura heard him chuckle. "Yes, I can see how that would mean you would need time to relax. Just remember to keep it down with your partying, people are sleeping."

"Don't worry we were headed back to the barracks now, gotta be up bright and early."

Once the guard was gone she could hear them talking amongst themselves. "Is she dead or not?" One of them asked in a hushed tone.

"If she's not she will be by daybreak, I got her pretty good. Come on we have to get back. We'll tell him the jobs done after inspection tomorrow."

Laura heard them walking away quickly and she felt relief flood through her. Looking down at her side she could see blood seeping through her wound. She knew she had to cover it quickly and tore off some of the bottom of her dress and pressed it against the wound. She whimpered as pain wracked her body and everything started to hit her at once. Tears fell down her face anew and she could barely breathe. Her eyes were starting to get heavy and she feared if she closed them, they wouldn't open again.

She took a deep breath and even though it caused her great pain she steeled herself and gripped onto the stone floor. There was no way she was gonna die here. Not in some hole in the wall in this godforsaken place. She refused! Her eyes started to get heavy and she pressed the cloth against her wound as hard as she could, but it wasn't enough to stave off the impending darkness. Her head slowly fell forward and everything went black.


	11. Investigating

It was so peaceful and still, it almost felt like she was floating. She was enveloped in darkness but she wasn't afraid. Here she couldn't feel the pain and it was like nothing mattered anymore. She wrapped her arms around herself and felt a warmth spread through her being. It brought a smile to her lips. Then something started to cut through the stillness, voices from far away. They were getting louder, and with each word seemed to be pulling her towards something. She knew what following the words meant. Going back to the pain and the misery she felt before arriving. Her heart longed to stay, but inside, she knew it wasn't where she belonged yet. With a deep breath, she gathered her courage and opened her eyes.

Pain wracked her body as she came back to reality. A gasp of breath and it was almost like she never left. Looking around slowly she saw she was still in the hole in the wall. A pulse of pain ran up her side as she moved a little and she winced. Her stab wound was still leaking but it wasn't too strong. Laying her head back she couldn't help but wonder how she had gotten herself into this mess.

The voices came back then, they were loud and it sounded like someone she knew. Hope swelled in her as she tried to pull her near limp body towards the opening of her little safe space. Without a second thought, she threw her hand out of the hole and tried to call out.

"Attar."

Within minutes she heard the voice barking orders to someone who was with him and she felt herself getting pulled out of the hole. She groaned in protest and pain ran through her whole body. The sun hit her face and she felt herself smile a little. Looking up she saw Attar and a random soldier with him. Attar looked completely shocked and a little uneasy.

"I must look as bad as I feel I guess," She said bleakly as she then tried to give them a smile but she winced from the pain of her lip. "What are you doing going down random alleyways anyway?"

"Senator Nald sent us out looking for you, he was afraid something had happened," Attar leaned down to look her over and grimaced to himself. "He had no idea how right he was it seems."

Laura almost wanted to laugh but knew it would hurt way too much and it wouldn't even be worth it. "Can you get me back home?"

Attar stood up and barked at his subordinate to run and tell the General he had found her and was going to take her back home. The soldier merely nodded and took off quickly. "Can you walk?" He asked sounding concerned.

She tried to make her body listen to her commands but it refused and the pain was too great. "I think my ankle is broken, along with many other problems I'm guessing."

He seemed to be thinking it over before he finally decided to hell with it and tried as carefully as possible to lift her into his arms. Laura cried out a few times before he adjusted her just right and started to head towards Nald's house. Laura's head lolled to the side and rested against his armor. "I'm sorry Attar, this must be very degrading to you. I would walk if I could."

He seemed to acknowledge her words but didn't say anything. Attar tried to be as careful as he could but even small steps sent pain through her. When he looked back down at her, he said, "I'm trying to be steady, I don't mean to make it worse."

Laura must have stunned him when she looked back and gave a beaming smile through the pain, "I'm just glad you found me." Attar quickly went back to focusing on the path. After a few minutes, she felt the darkness calling her back. She wasn't as scared as she was before, and welcomed it gladly.

There were voices again, and she felt herself being poked and prodded. Pain shot through her like lightning and she tried to tear the offending things away from her. The voices sounded urgent and then she couldn't move her hands anymore. "Please stop, it really hurts." She heard herself cry out and she felt warmth roll down her cheeks.

"It's okay my dear it's me, the doctor is trying to help you. I need you to stay still, I know it must be painful but please bear with us." Nald's voice broke through to her and she felt herself relax a little before the prodding began again. She moaned in pain but tried her best not to move. It felt like years before it finally stopped and she slipped away again.

It was slow at first but then she felt her eyes open again. The lights in the room were dim and she felt so comfortable. Looking over she saw Nald sitting on the couch across from her, and in a chair beside her, Ari seemed to have fallen asleep. Laura tried to move and even though she felt pain it wasn't as bad as it had been before and she wondered how long she had been out.

"Nald," His name came out breathy from her lips and when he looked up a smile came over his face. He quickly moved away from the couch and kneeled beside her.

"I'm so glad you're awake Laura, how do you feel?" Concern was etched all over his face and Laura couldn't help but feel grateful to him.

"I feel a little better, where are we?" She asked, looking around she realized everything seemed a little blurry still. Other than the things in front of her she couldn't really make out the rest.

"You're home, safe and sound now. Attar found you just in time." Nald explained as he carefully moved her hair away from her face. He then took her hand in his. "I promise we will find out who was behind this and make sure they pay dearly."

It was then that Ari started to stir and gasped when she saw Laura awake. "Oh Laura I'm so glad you're awake, I was afraid you might not come back to us."

"How long was I out?"

"Three days, the doctor said that if Attar hadn't found you, you wouldn't have made it for very much longer," Ari said as she took Laura's other hand in hers. "I'm so glad you didn't go away."

"Where is Attar, I need to thank him," She asked as she tried to pull herself up into a sitting position. White hot pain shot through her ribs and she winced.

"You must take it slow, the doctor said that some of your ribs are fractured, your ankle is broken and you have bruises covering almost every inch of you. Plus a stab wound as well on your left side. You have to be careful not to tear the stitches. You lost a lot of blood too so you might be dizzy," Ari explained as she helped Laura prop a pillow behind her back so she wasn't laying down as much. "We can send for Attar now, which I'm sorry to say will also bring Thade, they need to take a statement from you so they can find out who did this."

"Do you remember anything, Laura? Even something small will help them." Nald questioned as he went to the kitchen to get her some water.

Everything seemed to flash through her memory at once and anger settled in her gut. "Oh, I remember everything."

It didn't take long for the message of her awakening to reach Attar and Thade as they showed up rather quickly. By this time Laura had discovered how to breathe without hurting in the sitting position she was in. She gave Attar a warm smile but refused to even look in Thade's direction. Ari and Nald decided to give them some space so Laura could tell them everything that had happened. She gave them every gory detail down to the beatings and the way she had slipped away. The guard who had interrupted them and the fact that they had obviously been military.

"If I didn't know any better I would have thought you had sent them, but then you like to do your own dirty work." She said her tone acidic as she looked over at Thade. Attar's eyes went from Laura to Thade and he seemed a bit confused. Thade's expression didn't change, but he asked Attar to leave them. Laura didn't want him to go, but she knew Attar would follow his orders no matter what she said.

"Thank you, Attar, for finding me, for bringing me back here." Her tone changed drastically to one of warmth. Attar looked at her and seemed to take in her words and then left the room to head outside with Ari and Nald.

Before Thade could even start she did, "I know what you're going to say, it was a waste of your time coming here to check up on a human. That Attar should have just left me in that alleyway to die because he would have done the whole city a favor!" She spat as she looked over at him. "Why did you even come? You don't care about any of this."

Thade showed no reaction to her words, "You said one of them had a dagger, what did it look like?"

Of course, he wouldn't care about what she thought. Laura turned her head to stare at the door. "It was black with red lace wound around it. I'm sure there must be a dozen of those blades given out."

He didn't say anything else before he stood up and walked out the door. She really had an urge to throw something, specifically at his face. Though he angered her beyond words, she did want his help. Even if he was only doing it because it was his job.

* * *

The minute Thade set foot outside the door Ari rushed past him back inside and to Laura's side. When the door was closed Nald narrowed his eyes at him. "I want these monsters found general, and I want them destroyed." Nald seemed so callous towards the apes who had done this it even made Thade flinch a bit. He knew the senator was not someone you wanted to provoke. If it had been any other human he would have told him that he had become too attached to his slave; But Laura was different, even to himself, which still bothered him greatly.

"I will find whoever did this Senator, you have my word."

Nald seemed appeased by his words and went back inside. Attar walked over to Thade's side. "I will go and find out the guard rotation for that night, see if I can find who was the one who saw them."

"Before that, show me where you found her again. I want to look it over again and see if I find anything new."

Attar led him to the alley and showed him where he had found Laura. Afterwards, Attar went off to find the schedule for the guards. Just standing outside the alleyway Thade could practically smell her fear in the air as if the attack had just happened. It made him bristle in anger. Looking at the hole he could see where she had been bleeding. Somehow she had managed to stay calm enough to get away from her attackers and to survive the night. He had to admit, she was one of the toughest humans he had ever met.

Thinking about her made him remember that day when one of his soldiers had told him that Attar had found her. When he described what she had looked like he couldn't believe it. Thade had gotten to Nald's house as quick as possible, just in time to see Attar place her on the couch. Seeing Laura like that, he almost couldn't believe that it was her. She was covered in bruises and blood, her eyes were shut and from the look of her, it seemed like they would never open again.

Thade has felt his breath hitch and his heart fall straight into the pit of his stomach. All this time he had tried to convince himself that he hated her, that if he just pushed her away hard enough everything would go back to the way it was. That he could be himself again. All he could think about was the last thing he had said to her. Oh, he meant threatened her with.

The doctor had appeared quickly and went to work right away. Right, when the doctor had begun the stitches to Laura's stab wound the small sounds of pain started. Then the rustling has Laura tried to get away. Hearing her had given him some hope. If she could still feel that, if she could still make some kind of noise, then she might not be lost. The doctor needed her still however and Nald had quickly taken her arms and held them so the doctor could finish. After that they had left, since Laura passed back out there was nothing they could do as they didn't know her story. It had been a very hard few days for him.

"General."

Coming out of his thoughts he saw Attar approaching with a guard in tow, who seemed pretty nervous. He kept shifting his gaze from the alleyway to Thade and then Attar. As they stopped in front of Thade the guard started to say something but Thade growled at him and he immediately shut his mouth.

"I just need you to tell me who was in this alleyway a few nights ago. I hear you saw a few soldiers." Thade's tone was sharp and to the point. It made the guard hesitate a bit.

"There were three, and they were just hanging out here. I came over because they were being too loud. I figured they were just letting out some steam before the inspection the next day." The guard explained barely looking Thade in the eye.

"So you didn't see them with any human?" Attar asked eyeing him carefully.

"No they were alone, so I didn't think anything of it."

Thade thought it over carefully, the guard didn't seem to be hiding anything. Sure he was acting nervous but Thade had that effect on people in his command. "If you saw these soldiers again, could you point them out to me?"

"Of course General."

Thade and Attar then led the guard to the barracks. They watched as soldiers entered and left. They stayed out of sight so they wouldn't alert the suspects. Before too long three apes exited the barracks and the guard pointed them out to them. When Thade asked how sure he was, he said completely. Thade watched them carefully and when they went to turn down the path he noticed one of them had a dagger and it looked exactly like the one Laura had told him about.

"Attar, I want you to grab them carefully. Don't let anyone who doesn't need to know in on it. I want them taken as quietly as possible."

Attar almost shuddered at how brittle Thade's tone was. He didn't know what Thade had in mind for those three, but he knew it wasn't anything they would come back alive from. He merely nodded and headed out to do as he was told.

Thade stood there glowering, going through his options. If he was careful he could do whatever he wished with them. But he wanted Laura to be there for it. That icy tone she had used when she spoke to him. He couldn't even be angry at her for it. He had to make her see how he felt and he would do it using the ones who had hurt her.

* * *

Author's note: I know I've been gone for a bit so I decided to crank out these two chapters pretty quickly. To me, this one is a bit short but I needed it to set up what's going to happen next. Thank you for all the reviews and sticking with my story. I promise this story is continuing, so no worries. The next chapter will be out as soon as possible.


	12. Revenge and An Apology

To say Zaius was in a foul mood was an incredible understatement. He was making his way to Marcus for an update when one of his spies had come to him and reported that Laura was still alive. And the day had started out so promising. When he entered the temple he noticed apes inside quietly praying and talking to each other. Marcus was in the middle of a conversation with a young female ape but Zaius didn't really care.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Marcus, but we need to speak privately." Zaius tried his best to mask his aggressive tone in front of the female but doubted he did it very well. Marcus bid the girl a nice day and led Zaius to the back where his private quarters were.

"What's happened?"

"The human is still alive," Zaius explained through clenched teeth.

Marcus couldn't believe it, he and Zaius had found the perfect ones to end her. They had a history of roughing up humans and making sure they didn't leave a trail. How could the three of them manage to muck this up?!

"That's not the only thing we have to worry about either," Zaius said with a deep sigh.

"What else could possibly have happened?"

Zaius took a seat on a chair near the bed. "All three of them have gone missing. I tried to get a hold of them but they are gone. I'm not sure where."

Marcus took the information in stride though. "I'm guessing they heard she is still alive and decided to lay low for a while, it would be the smartest move."

Knowing he might be right Zaius calmed down a bit and then looked down at the floor. "I don't understand how she isn't dead. They came to me that very night and told me the job was done. This human is more trouble then I thought she would be."

"We can still end her Zaius, we just need to be careful for a while. Let me gain more of her trust, then we will strike again." Marcus walked over to his old friend and placed a hand on his shoulder. "And this time, we will make sure she is dead and gone."

* * *

Laura sighed deeply, resting up had turned into such a pain in the ass. Moving was a little easier on her, not so much pain. Walking with the cast though was definitely not going well. Sure a few steps were no problem but overall she was not getting very far.

Ari had visited a few times and even brought Krull once who was nice enough to leave her a book to read. He had been kind to her but he barely spoke a word. Laura didn't take offense though, it just seemed like that was how he was to everyone.

She hadn't heard anything from Thade or Attar about her incident for a while. Maybe they stopped looking and were trying to sweep it under a carpet. Laura quickly dismissed that thought though as there was no way Nald was going to let them forget it. Looking down at her arms she noticed her bruises were healing nicely. Even her lip was looking much better. Nald had been in such a state for days. He didn't want to leave her alone while he went to work, he was afraid her attackers would come back. So to make himself feel better he had gotten more guards to watch the house. She had tried to tell him she would be fine, but he wouldn't listen. He was such a dad ape.

A knock at the door startled her and she cursed under her breath. She ran a hand through her hair to steady herself and called out, "I'm kinda crippled, the door's not locked, come on in."

Attar came through the door and looked at her as if she were crazy. "You were almost killed and the door isn't locked?"

"Have you seen how many guards are out there? I doubt anyone is gonna try to get in through the front door." The snarkiness was strong with her and the look Attar gave her made her chuckle. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

Attar's face suddenly turned grim and Laura lost her sense of humor quickly. "What's wrong?"

"I need you to come with me."

Laura didn't even think about it as she stood up from the couch and wobbled over to him. "I'll need your help down the stairs. How far are we going?"

"We are heading out of the city gates. I brought my horse so we don't have to walk far."

Laura understood and was really curious now, but she trusted Attar nevertheless. He helped her down the stairs and upon his horse. Riding through town was a little hard on her, she could feel tiny pulls on her stitches but she pushed through it. Once they had passed the gate and got a bit into the jungle Attar dismounted and helped her down.

"We have to go the rest of the way on foot."

Before Laura could interject and remind him that she couldn't really walk Attar picked her up and started carrying her through the forest. "I'm starting to think you enjoy carrying me around like a doll." She was of course joking and said it in a light-hearted tone.

Attar grumbled a little and said, "Don't get used to it human." Laura couldn't help but laugh.

They walked for a while and kept going deeper into the jungle. She was starting to wonder if she was going to be coming back from this. She doubted Attar wanted to hurt her but whatever he brought her out here for must of been important. When she saw a marker on a tree she figured they must have arrived. It led them into a clearing and what she saw made her lose her breath.

The three apes who attacked her were cuffed and kneeling before them. Their eyes were covered and she looked like they had been roughed up quite a bit. The leader, the one who had the dagger, even had blood trailing down his mouth. Laura didn't know what to feel and she didn't know what to say. Attar didn't even seem fazed like he had seen this for the past few days. He carefully placed her down a few feet away from the leader.

"Attar, what is this?"

"Punishment." Laura heard the voice off to the far side of them and watched as Thade came into view. "The punishment for beating a human that belongs to a senator is the death penalty already, but I guess you could say they made it personal."

"Is this how all executions are done? In the middle of nowhere, and are they always beaten beforehand?" Laura wasn't upset by this, but this couldn't be how its usually done.

"No, usually it's a bunch of paperwork and days or even months before the sentence is even carried out. It usually has to be before the entire Senate as well." Thade explained as he walked behind the soldiers. "I have no patience for such things though and I know your master wouldn't either."

"Why would you do this? If the rest of the Senate or anyone else found out about it, who knows what could happen." She asked crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at him. He was acting very out of character and it didn't feel right to her.

"I did it for you."

Her whole body tensed up and she looked up at Attar who was acting like nothing was even happening in front of him. That's when she realized what this all really was. Thade had brought her all the way out here so she could watch her attackers die. To Thade this was some kind of peace offering. Revenge and an apology all wrapped up in a gift for her.

Her expression softened and she took a small step forward. "You brought me here, so I could watch you kill them. To give me some kind of justice?"

"If we did it the proper way, you wouldn't get to see it. You would only hear about it. I would rather you get the relief of seeing it and knowing they are gone, forever."

She closed her eyes and let his words sink in. He was willing to get in a world of trouble just so she could sleep better at night. Could she really watch them die though? They had brought such pain to her and almost ended her life. Why shouldn't they get the same in kind? When she opened her eyes she had steeled herself and clenched her hands into fists.

"Do it."

Thade unsheathed his blade and walked up to the first ones back. He placed the blade up to the soldier's neck and he started to shake. Thade looked up at her like he was waiting for her. Laura took a deep breath and nodded her head.

The cut was quick and blood spurted out of the wound and onto the grass. Laura gasped and almost looked away, but she didn't. His little gurgles seemed to panic the second soldier as he started to babble incoherently. It didn't even make Thade flinch as he walked up behind him and placed the blade against his neck as well. Once again he looked to Laura and she had to steady herself. Attar came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. It gave her a bit of reassurance and she looked back at Thade and nodded again. The cut was the same as the first but this time she was ready for the after effects.

The last one, the leader. Thade came up behind him and placed the blade at his throat, but the soldier didn't even flinch.

"Wait."

Thade tilted his head at Laura, she could tell he was wondering if she was able to continue. But this was about something else completely. With Attar's help, she moved over in front of the leader. "I want him to see me."

The general didn't say anything but removed the covering over the soldier's eyes. When he saw her he didn't seem surprised at all. Laura gave him a sweet smile though and kneeled down to his level.

"Hey, you remember me? I'm sure you do, I mean how could you forget?" Laura asked in a mocking tone. "You really gave me a beating didn't you? Really messed me up. Too bad you won't survive it though. If you had been smart you wouldn't of come for me." He was still quiet not saying a word, but she did notice him giving her a deadly glare. "It's okay you don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know, I'm really going to enjoy watching you bleed out. High light of my day really, well, more like my year."

She stood up slowly and took a few steps back. "The first two were a little hard to watch I'll let you know. I've never watched anyone die in front of me before, but I got over it really quick. Even took a little enjoyment from the second, but you, you are just the icing on this sweet little cake."

Looking back at Thade his whole expression had changed. He was looking at her with such admiration it made her pause. Thade had never looked at her like that before and the air between them suddenly started to grow tense. It was different from anything she had ever felt before and she was worried when she didn't start to feel uncomfortable. Hearing the soldier start to chuckle quickly dissipated it though.

"I didn't believe the rumors about you two but it seems they do hold some weight." He lifted his head and glared right at Laura. "You will poison everything. My only regret is that I didn't get the job done."

Laura leered at him and then looked back at Thade. "Let's finish this." Without a second thought, Thade slit his throat just like the others. Laura didn't flinch, she just watched as his life slowly faded away into nothingness. Letting out a sigh she closed her eyes and ran her hands through her hair. They were dead, and no longer a threat to anyone. She felt eyes on her and she opened hers to see Thade staring at her. With a beaming smile, she said, "I forgive you."

His whole demeanor seemed to relax and it made her realize how much her forgiveness meant to him. "Should we bury them?"

"Some of our most trust men are going to take care of it, don't worry," Attar said, his voice calm and lax. "We need to get you back home before senator Nald gets home."

Laura agreed, she didn't know what he would really think of all this, but to be honest, she also didn't care. He had done a lot for her, but this was meant to be just hers and she would hold on to it for as long as she could.

The way back to the city was quiet, and once she was back home Attar headed out to give the soldiers the order to clean up the jungle. Laura was surprised when Thade helped her up the stairs. His body was tense the whole time but he was as careful as he could be. He sat her down on one of the outside chairs and she let out a deep sigh as she relaxed.

Thade looked like he was going to leave but Laura wasn't letting him off the hook that easily. "You don't have to go you know, you can sit and have a conversation with me." He stopped and seemed to think it over before turning to her.

"I think I've already said enough for now, don't you?"

He wasn't wrong, his actions had said plenty. A smile lit up her face and she nodded at him. Thade was halfway down the steps before she suddenly stood up and leaned over the porch railing. "Thade, what's your favorite color?"

Thade looked like he almost stumbled from the suddenly random question and looked up at her like she was a pain in his ass. Which only made her giggle. "Why do you want to know that all of a sudden?"

"I don't know anything about you really, and I feel like I should at least learn a few things," Laura replied placing her head in her hands. "It's just something small that I want to know about you, that's all. I'll even tell you mine first, it's sunset orange."

Thade was looking at her like she had lost her mind, and for a moment it looked like he was just going to leave as he turned back around and took a few more steps down. Laura felt a bit let down but thought he might not want to share anything just yet. But then she heard him let out an aggravated sigh and he looked back up at her. "It's green, I like green."

The smile that lit up Laura's face was unlike any he had ever seen. He turned away quickly and got on his horse. "You'll have to teach me how to ride one day!" Laura called out to him.

He snorted and gave her a mischievous smile, "Now you really are crazy."

Laura busted out laughing as he rode away and kept smiling to herself even once he was out of view. Standing there she started to mull over everything that had happened. She never thought Thade would do something like this for her. It made her suddenly wonder what this meant for them. Were they gonna act like friends now? It didn't feel like that, it felt more like, fighting wouldn't happen as much. Maybe they could overcome some things now, and slowly make their way up to being friends of some kind. The future did seem a little brighter now.

When Laura went inside the house she noticed a vase of flowers on the table. They looked like daisies and she waddled over to them and found a note on the table. It was from Toran and David and it said:

 _Dear Laura,_

 _We are sorry we missed you, but maybe we can come over and see how you are doing tomorrow? We are glad you are doing well in recovery and can't wait to see you. We'll even bring some snacks tomorrow, just for you! Hope to see you soon!_

 _Best wishes,_

 _Toran and David (Mostly Toran)_

Laura let out a chuckle and placed the note down. She smelled the daises and smiled to herself. Since they would be coming tomorrow, maybe it would be a good idea to talk to Nald about them beforehand. She was still wanting to find a way to help them.

Just as she was about to waddle back over to the couch Nald walked through the door. "Laura, I try very hard not to laugh when you waddle but you are making it impossible."

Laura grinned at him and continued to waddle over to the couch, "Oh yeah laugh at the cripple." She dropped onto the couch as carefully as she could and still managed to hurt her side a little. "I actually wanted to talk to you Nald, do you think you could take a seat."

Nald took a seat across from her and got comfortable, "Tell me whats on your mind, my dear."

Laura took a deep breath and just said it plainly, "What are your thoughts on humans and apes being in relationships?"

Nald just stared at her for a moment and then crossed his arms and gave her a coy look, "Laura I appreciate the thought but you and I would never work together."

Laura almost died right there on that couch. "I'm serious you ass," She said through laughter and throwing a pillow at him which he just caught and placed down.

"The laws are clear on what happens to the couple, but if you are asking me my opinion on the matter," He seemed to think about it for a few minutes before sighing heavily. "I really don't know how I feel about it. Since its outlawed, I've never even seen a couple to get a good opinion."

"What if you did, would you be open-minded enough not to betray their trust?" Laura asked feeling a little wary now about this conversation.

Nald looked a little hurt from her question. "Laura, I would expect you to think better of me. I would not turn them in, just like how I didn't turn you into the scientists when I found out how capable you are."

The relief that flooded through Laura was enough to make her lay back on the couch. "I'm really glad to hear that, and it's not that I thought badly of you, it's just that I didn't really know how you would feel."

Nald looked a little curious then. "Why are you asking me this Laura? Have you fallen for someone here in the city?" Laura almost choked on air and she quickly shook her head.

"No not me, I have some friends who are coming over tomorrow and they are a couple. I want to do something to help them Nald. They are very kind and they deserve all the happiness in the world. I would hate to see them be torn apart." Laura told him with soft eyes. "I want you to meet them and see how you feel about it."

"You have such a big heart my dear, if you want me to meet this couple then I will. There may be something we can do, but I make no promises. This law is very old, and very heavily enforced." Nald replied standing up and heading into the kitchen, but he stopped before he entered and continued, "I will try to understand them and then we will see, alright?"

Laura nodded and then watched him leave the kitchen. It wasn't much, but it was a tiny hope and she would cling on to it. Laying back on the sofa she got comfortable and closed her eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a good day, she could just feel it.


	13. Watching You

The next morning Toran and David showed up with a tray of banana bread. Toran explained how she had been trying to teach David how to bake, and apparently, he was doing pretty good at it. Nald shook Toran's hand and led her into the dining room where they all took their seats. When Laura explained to Toran what she had in mind Toran seemed nervous and David had to take her hand. Nald leaned over and placed his hand over both of theirs and promised that no harm would come to them, he had no plans to discuss this meeting with anyone.

So once again her and David explained everything. Nald sat there taking it all in. Laura was busy taking bites out of the banana bread, which was absolutely amazing. After the story was told and he heard everything they had to say Nald sat back in his chair and looked thoughtful. David had his arms around Toran and it brought a smile to Laura's face.

"You two have been through quite a bit, having to keep this a secret must be rough on both of you," Nald said after a few minutes had passed. "I wish there was something I could do for you right now, but getting even the smallest rights for humans passed has been a challenge. It's easier with Horus on our side and Marcus stepping in every once in a while, but that's not saying a lot, we need more help."

Toran nodded and replied, "I'm just glad you didn't judge us from the beginning. Telling Ari and Dahlia was already difficult, but telling someone with power over things, I just didn't think you would even care."

Nald gave her a light smile, "There are many things about humans and apes that are different, but I don't figure love to be one of those things. In time, with understanding on both sides, I'm hoping you won't have to hide anymore."

To say they both left feeling more relieved then they had in a long time was an understatement. David and Toran hugged them both and thanked Dahlia for her help.

"Please, just call me Laura."

They both seemed a bit confused but just smiled and nodded. After they had gone and Nald left for work, Laura sat back on the couch and propped up her casted leg on a pillow. She really could not wait for it to be off. Waddling all over the house was not fun and because of her horrible mobility, she couldn't go into the town. At least she could go outside on the porch and sit, which is exactly what she did. When she heard footsteps and looked up she couldn't believe who it was.

"Marcus, what are you doing here?" She asked feeling a bit confused at his appearance.

"I thought I would come and see how you are healing up."

Laura motioned towards the chair across from her, "Please, take a seat. Would you like something to drink? I can't really walk, but I can waddle, might give you a good laugh too."

He chuckled before sitting down, "That won't be necessary, please just relax. How are you feeling?"

"About as well as can be expected. The bruises are fading and with time my ankle will heal. The stab wound still bothers me sometimes. Especially if I'm not really careful with how I move. Other then that though, I'm doing a lot better."

"You are lucky you got away my dear, I don't think Nald would have been able to handle losing you."

Laura scoffed and leaned back in her seat, "He acts a lot like a parent sometimes, but I know he just wants me to be careful. I guess I didn't take the danger all that seriously though."

When she looked up at Marcus he seemed to be staring at her and the look he had made her a little uncomfortable. She bit the inside of her cheek and suddenly realized something.

"Marcus, you always answer all my questions. Do you have any for me? About me or about humans in general, I will do my best to answer."

He seemed surprised by this and looked down at the table thinking to himself before looking back up at her. "You know, I do have a few questions." His tone had changed.

"Please go ahead."

"Where did you come from," The question took Laura by surprise. As much as Marcus had been kind to her, he was seeming a little strange today. She wanted to be able to tell him the truth, but she was suspicious of how much she could trust him yet. "You don't act like any other human I've ever seen or met. You are very different."

"My tribe is, very far away from here," Laura replied with a sad smile. She decided the best way for her answer to sound true was to mix in the truth with lies. "A man I knew went searching for his son one day when he turned up missing. After a while, I got worried and went after them both. A storm was just starting to hit and I knew within a few minutes that I was lost, not just from them, but from the rest of my people. When the storm had passed everything looked different. So I kept going, hoping I would find more humans. After a while, humans ran into me. While saving a child from being captured by your kind, I was caught and brought here. I'm sure you know the rest."

Marcus had been watching her closely like he was openly looking for the lies in her tale. It put up a red flag in Laura's mind. Maybe he was just curious about her, but she wasn't sure. She didn't like not being sure.

"Who was this male human to you?"

"He was like a brother to me, although he could be a real smart ass sometimes. Always thought he knew everything."

Marcus seemed to move forward a bit, "Do you think he is here in the city?"

Laura shook her head, "If he is, I have not found him. At this point, he could be anywhere or he could be . . ." Laura didn't want to finish that sentence she refused to think like that. Leo was smart and resourceful, he could be out there somewhere in the jungle. With a smile, she leaned forward as well. "Marcus, I want to be able to trust you. I know you haven't done anything to make me doubt you, but as I'm kind of crippled I could use your help."

His tone seemed to change back to normal and his eyes were kind. "Of course my dear, whatever you need."

"When I was attacked, did you hear anything about it. Like what happened to them or anything else like that? I'm still feeling a little frightened at the thought they could still be out there. Any information about them could be useful."

Marcus seemed to think about it before he suddenly moved in closer to the table. Laura copied his movements and Marcus whispered, "I have heard a few things. Apparently, they were soldiers and under the order of someone. As I have been told, there are rumors about it being the order of General Thade. There have been sightings of the two of you in heated arguments. It wouldn't surprise me. But you didn't hear any of this from me, my dear."

The smile that lit up Laura's face seemed to please Marcus. "Thank you, my friend, I knew you wouldn't let me down. I promise, no one will know about anything we just discussed."

Marcus smiled as well and started to rise from his seat. "Well, I must be getting back to the temple. Would you like some help on getting inside."

"No, don't worry about me, I think I'm gonna stay out here and enjoy the weather a bit more. Thank you though."

When Marcus was completely out of her view she placed both of her feet on the table, elevating her casted foot. She found it very suspicious that Marcus knew anything about the attack. Seeing as how Nald hadn't said anything and neither had Ari. She especially knew Thade wasn't in any way involved and went to great lengths to make sure no one would say a word. She chewed on her tongue and thought to herself. How would he even have that information, unless he was somehow involved? Laura knew she was gonna have to keep an eye on him from now on. One thing was for sure. He was not to be trusted.

As she sat there contemplating what to do with Marcus she watched as the sun rose higher in the sky. Marcus wouldn't give himself up that easy, maybe he was working for someone. The question was who, and finding out wouldn't be easy. She had placed a pretty big target on her back, at this rate it could be almost anyone.

* * *

As Marcus made his way to the temple he was pretty damn proud of himself. He had managed to get information out of the human pest and had managed to place a kind of wedge between her and the general. All in all, a pretty good day. When he made his way inside he noticed Zaius sitting near the front. He went and joined him ready to tell him his luck when he noticed the grim look on his old friends face.

"What happened?"

Zaius turned towards him and motioned him into the back where they had privacy. Marcus didn't like how quiet he was being.

"The three soldiers we enlisted have been found."

Marcus didn't understand why that was a bad thing and replied, "Good, maybe we can send them back out and this time make sure they get the job done!"

"They are dead Marcus, their throats slit, and whoever did it was sending us a warning. My scouts found them barely buried and a dagger shoved in the ground next to the graves."

Marcus paled at his friend's words and suddenly realized he might have just made a huge mistake. "But there's no way she could have done it, not after everything they did to her."

"It was obvious whoever did it, interrogated them pretty thoroughly before killing them. Which means, there is a chance that someone knows we are behind this!" Zaius practically screeched.

"Calm yourself Zaius, if someone knew it was us we would have found out by now! There is a chance they didn't get anything out of them. For now, we continue on as we are and I have some information for you about the human, from her own mouth."

"It had better be good Marcus because we are losing time."


End file.
